noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A bobbing motion that accompanies the precession of a spinning rigid body. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   uncontrolled nodding wordnet
3. 3
   A nodding motion (of the head etc.). countable, uncountable
4. 4
   Any of several irregularities in the precession of the equinoxes caused by varying torque applied to the Earth by the Sun and the Moon. countable, uncountable
5. 5
   The circular motion of the tip of a growing shoot. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

fluctuationfrequencyfrequency bandperiodicityresonancevacillation

Etymology

1610s, from Latin nūtātiō (“nodding”), from nūtō (“I nod”). Compare mutation.

Related phrases

revolving nutation

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.