precess
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
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
In theory, they could just have latched on, pulled, and let the thing precess in any way it wanted to.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
