altitude

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The temperature at this altitude was a pleasant break from the unrelenting heat we had experienced in Indonesia so far.

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun The height of a thing above a reference level, especially above sea level or above the earth's surface. See Synonyms at elevation.
  2. noun A high location or area.
  3. noun Astronomy The angular distance of a celestial object above the horizon.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (14)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Angular shapes were draped so gracefully that unsymmetrical sharpness disappeared; too ample forms exchanged their air of uncouth corpulence for a well-defined roundness; low statures seemed to spring up to a nobler altitude, and women of masculine height sunk into feminine proportions. —  Fairy Fingers A Novel
  • No. It is the Law of Gravity which causes the density and pressure of a planet's atmosphere to decrease with altitude, and that decrease in pressure forces the balloon upwards until the balance point between atmospheric density and the internal density of the balloon is reached The illustration may seem obvious and elementary to the modern man, but it seems so only because he understands, at least to some extent, the laws involved. —  The Highest Treason
  • There's a pint of beans, too, that by cookin' steady in this altitude ought to be done by spring. —  The Man from the Bitter Roots
  • It was quite complete and we--or rather Slafe--recorded the thermometer and barometer readings as well as the wind direction and altitude, these to be later compared with others taken under normal conditions at the same hour Included in the gear were telescope and binoculars; these we put to our eyes only to realize with surprise that we were located in the center of a hollow bowl perhaps a hundred and fifty or two hundred feet across and that an horizon of upsurging vegetation cut off our view of anything except the sky itself. —  Greener Than You Think
  • Given a sufficiently high altitude, the mere act of dropping through the air creates motion, and this motion will sustain flight An airplane is in no particular danger in the air if the motor stops--provided it is in an open stretch of country with plenty of fields. —  Opportunities in Aviation
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

velocity ·  elevation ·  height ·  latitude ·  temperature ·  width ·  density ·  dimension ·  angle ·  humidity ·  distance ·  diameter

Used in the same contextWord Family

altitude:   altitudes
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Latin altitūdō, from altus, high; see al-2 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English altitude, from Latin altitudo, height, from altus, high: see alt.
 

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/ˈæltɪtjud/
by American Heritage

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