Gradient
//ˈɡɹeɪdiənt// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A slope or incline.
- 2 the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal wordnet
- 3 A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.
"Just beyond that station the first step is encountered and the rack resorted to, taking the line on a gradient of 1 in 9 over a steeply inclined bridge and through a spiral tunnel."
- 4 a graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension wordnet
- 5 The ratio of the rates of change of a dependent variable and an independent variable, the slope of a curve's tangent.
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- 6 The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
- 7 A differential operator that maps each point of a scalar field to a vector pointed in the direction of the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: ∇φ
- 8 A gradual change in color; a color gradient; gradation.
Adjective
- 1 Moving by steps; walking. not-comparable
"movable and Gradient Automata"
- 2 Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination. not-comparable
"the gradient line of a railroad"
- 3 Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds. not-comparable
- 4 Using the gradient to solve a problem. not-comparable
Example
More examples"The earth is sited in an energy gradient as on a hillside, with golden nuggets tumbling continually from above."
Etymology
From Latin gradiēns, present participle of gradior (“to step, to walk”).
Related phrases
More for "gradient"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.