superpose
Americanverb (used with object)
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to place above or upon something else, or one upon another.
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Geometry. to place (one figure) in the space occupied by another, so that the two figures coincide throughout their whole extent.
verb
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geometry to transpose (the coordinates of one geometric figure) to coincide with those of another
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a rare word for superimpose
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of superpose
From the French word superposer, dating back to 1815–25. See super-, pose 1
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.
See Examples For:
But if we superpose the pure spectral colours on a screen, the resulting colours are quite 729 different.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various
Now it is the same thing with symmetric spherical triangles; we cannot superpose them.
From The Teaching of Geometry by David Eugene Smith
To put over or upon; as to superpose one rock upon another.
From Orthography As Outlined in the State Course of Study for Illinois by Elmer W. Cavins
V. cover; superpose, superimpose; overlay, overspread; wrap &c.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget
But in this fickle and aberrated mind ideas superpose themselves on each other, then pass away, and those which disappear leave their shadow on those which follow.
From Là-bas by Keene Wallace
Like entanglement, the superposed states essential to its power are fragile, collapsing when measured or otherwise perturbed by the outside world.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 3, 2021
This is further supported by the dust lanes superposed on the host nucleus17, 61.
From Nature ● Oct. 15, 2017
Their superposed states are delicate and the slightest intrusion from outside—a stray electromagnetic wave or a tiny change in temperature—can make those states vanish prematurely.
From Economist ● May 5, 2016
Researchers have proposed and demonstrated several technologies exploiting entangled and superposed quantum states, such as .
From Scientific American ● Oct. 9, 2012
Now if a red filter be superposed on the purple one only the red light is transmitted.
From Visual Illusions Their Causes, Characteristics and Applications by Matthew Luckiesh
When they do so, the pairs start behaving like a single particle, superposing proclivities and all.
From Economist ● Feb. 23, 2012
Lay out the drawer front by superposing the dovetailed side, X, on the end of the front, Y, as in a thru dovetail.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
By superposing layers of liquid of different concentration and decreasing density, one may obtain knots and swellings in the osmotic growths marking the surfaces of separation of the liquid.
From The Mechanism of Life by Stéphane Leduc
The dovetail joint is also made by first laying out and cutting the members having the pins, and then superposing this on the piece to be dovetailed, and scribing around the pins.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
There would be no reason, for example, why an angle should not be constructed equal to a given angle by superposing the given angle on another part of the plane.
From The Teaching of Geometry by David Eugene Smith
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.
