reference frame

noun

Physics.

1. frame of reference.

reference frame

1. A basis of a four-dimensional coordinate system in which the first coordinate is understood as a time coordinate, while the other three coordinates represent spatial dimensions. Inertial frames and non-inertial frames are both examples of reference frames.

2. Also called frame of reference

3. See also General Relativity space-time Special Relativity

Word History and Origins

Origin of reference frame¹

First recorded in 1920–25