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:
On restoring the wire to its original place, it will be extremely flexible, and we may now superpose several contrary polarities under contrary torsions, as already described.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883 by Various
In a general way, measuring is a wholly human operation, which implies that we really or ideally superpose two objects one on another a certain number of times.
From Creative Evolution by Mitchell, Arthur
We may give isolated single taps or superpose a series in rapid succession according as the wheel is rotated slow or fast.
From Response in the Living and Non-Living by Bose, Jagadis Chandra, Sir
This the roving waves bore over the submerged and now peaty forests, and deposited above them the elements of rocks which were to superpose the coal strata.
From The Underground City, or, the Child of the Cavern by Verne, Jules
Now it is the same thing with symmetric spherical triangles; we cannot superpose them.
From The Teaching of Geometry by Smith, David Eugene
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
Those superposed probabilities can, moreover, rise and fall with time.
From Economist ● Jun. 18, 2015
The Rydberg atom transferred its superposed state to the resident electromagnetic field, putting it into a superposition of two different phase, or vibrational, states.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 9, 2012
This may be superposed upon various backgrounds with striking results.
From Visual Illusions Their Causes, Characteristics and Applications by Luckiesh, Matthew
When they do so, the pairs start behaving like a single particle, superposing proclivities and all.
From Economist ● Feb. 23, 2012
A second arrangement consists in superposing the end of the exhaust-pipe upon a casing of suitable size, which casing is partitioned off by several perforated baffle-plates.
It is precisely by comparing, arranging and superposing these mind-images that we get our general notions or concepts.
From The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: the Book of the Spiritual Man by Johnston, Charles
On superposing all these curves, a satisfactory agreement was found to exist between them.
From Six Lectures on Light Delivered In The United States In 1872-1873 by Tyndall, John
An opaque sky, which had a solid air and was made of accumulated, small, horizontal layers, as if one had painted it by superposing pastes of dead colors.
From Ramuntcho by Loti, Pierre
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.
