Sextant
//ˈsɛk.stənt// name, noun
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude.
"[…] I can do more with a Quadrant, Sextant or Octant, of 1 foot Radius, furniſhed with Teleſcopical Sights and Screws, then ^([sic]) can poſſibly be done with any other Inſtrument, furniſhed only with Common Sights, though 10, 20, 30, nay threeſcore foot Radius; […]"
- 2 a measuring instrument for measuring the angular distance between celestial objects; resembles an octant wordnet
- 3 One sixth of a circle or disc; a sector with an angle of 60°.
- 4 a unit of angular distance equal to 60 degrees wordnet
- 5 One of six groups of adjacent teeth, excluding the wisdom teeth.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A radial cell division of segments in three series, a sixth part of the original.
Proper Noun
- 1 The constellation Sextans.
Example
More examples"Over a 20 year period of time, Tycho Brahe made consistent observations which supported the heliocentric theory proposed earlier by Copernicus. These observations were made using only a compass and a sextant."
Etymology
From Latin sextāns.
Related phrases
More for "sextant"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.