precess

American

[pree-ses] / priˈsɛs /

verb (used without object)

Mechanics.

to undergo precession.

precess British

/ prɪˈsɛs /

verb

to undergo or cause to undergo precession

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of precess

First recorded in 1890–95; back formation from precession

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A planet orbiting both stars experiences competing gravitational pulls, which cause its orbit to slowly rotate, or precess, much like a spinning top wobbling under gravity.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

"When the inner disk tears off, it will precess independently," Kaaz said.

From Science Daily • Sep. 20, 2023

At the same time, this magnetic field causes the spin of the muons to precess smoothly like a gyroscope, as the particles travel around the ring, but with a small wobble.

From Scientific American • Sep. 14, 2021

Whereas Newton predicted that a planet should orbit its star in an ellipse, general relativity predicts that the orientation of the ellipse should advance slightly, or precess, with each orbit.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 7, 2021

Flexing it—which would happen if they let the asteroid precess at will—would soon fatigue even that heavy bolt.

From Thin Edge by Garrett, Randall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023