释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024gra•di•ent /ˈgreɪdiənt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- Civil Engineeringthe degree at which a highway, railroad, etc., slopes up or down:a steep gradient.
- Physicsthe rate of change, as of distance, temperature, or pressure, as shown or represented by a curve in a graph.
See -grad-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024gra•di•ent (grā′dē ənt),USA pronunciation n. - the degree of inclination, or the rate of ascent or descent, in a highway, railroad, etc.
- an inclined surface;
grade; ramp. - [Physics.]
- the rate of change with respect to distance of a variable quantity, as temperature or pressure, in the direction of maximum change.
- a curve representing such a rate of change.
- [Math.]a differential operator that, operating upon a function of several variables, results in a vector the coordinates of which are the partial derivatives of the function. Abbr.: grad. Symbol: ∇
adj. - rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.
- progressing by walking;
stepping with the feet as animals do. - of a type suitable for walking or running, as the feet of certain birds;
gressorial.
- Latin gradient- (stem of gradiēns), present participle of gradī to walk, go, equivalent. to grad- walk + -i- thematic vowel + -ent- -ent
- 1635–45
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: gradient /ˈɡreɪdɪənt/ n - Also called (esp US): grade a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
- Also called (esp US and Canadian): grade a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
- a measure of the change of some physical quantity, such as temperature or electric potential, over a specified distance
- (of a curve) the slope of the tangent at any point on a curve with respect to the horizontal axis
adj - sloping uniformly
Etymology: 19th Century: from Latin gradiēns stepping, from gradī to go |