Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length.
- n. Extent or magnitude; scope. Often used in the plural: a problem of alarming dimensions.
- n. Aspect; element: "He's a good newsman, and he has that extra dimension” ( William S. Paley).
- n. Mathematics The least number of independent coordinates required to specify uniquely the points in a space.
- n. Mathematics The range of such a coordinate.
- n. Physics A physical property, such as mass, length, time, or a combination thereof, regarded as a fundamental measure or as one of a set of fundamental measures of a physical quantity: Velocity has the dimensions of length divided by time.
- v. To cut or shape to specified dimensions.
- v. To mark with specified dimensions.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Magnitude measured along a diameter; the measure through a body or closed figure along one of its principal axes; length, breadth, or thickness. Thus, a line has one dimension, length: a plane surface two, length and breadth; and a solid three, length, breadth, and thickness. The number of dimensions being equal to the number of principal axes, and that to the number of Independent directions of extension, it has become usual, in mathematics, to express the number of ways of spread of a figure by saying that it has two, three, or n dimensions, although the idea of measurement is quite extraneous to the fact expressed. The word generally occurs in the plural, referring to length, breadth, and thickness.
- n. Hence A mode of linear magnitude involved (generally along with others) in the quantity to which it belongs. In algebra, a variable factor, the number of dimensions of an expression being the number of variable factors in that term for which this number is the largest.
- n. Bulk; size; extent or capacity: commonly in the plural: as, the question is assuming great dimensions.
- n. That which has extension; matter; especially, the human body and its organs: so often in the plural.
- To measure the dimensions of; proportion.
Wiktionary
- n. A single aspect of a given thing.
- n. A measure of spatial extent in a particular direction, such as height, width or breadth, or depth.
- n. A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished.
- n. Any of the independent coordinates used to specify uniquely the location of a point in a space.
- n. The number of elements of any basis of a vector space.
- n. One of the physical property regarded as a fundamental measure of a physical quantity, such as mass, length and time.
- n. Any of the independent ranges of indices in a multidimensional array.
- n. An alternative universe or plane of existence.
- v. To mark, cut or shape something to specified dimensions.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Measure in a single line, as length, breadth, height, thickness, or circumference; extension; measurement; -- usually, in the plural, measure in length and breadth, or in length, breadth, and thickness; extent; size.
- n. Extent; reach; scope; importance.
- n. The degree of manifoldness of a quantity
- n. A literal factor, as numbered in characterizing a term. The term
dimensions forms with the cardinal numbers a phrase equivalent todegree with the ordinal; thus, a2b2c is a term of fivedimensions , or of the fifth degree. - n. The manifoldness with which the fundamental units of time, length, and mass are involved in determining the units of other physical quantities.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished
- n. one of three Cartesian coordinates that determine a position in space
- n. magnitude or extent
- v. indicate the dimensions on
- v. shape or form to required dimensions
- n. the magnitude of something in a particular direction (especially length or width or height)
Etymologies
- Middle English dimensioun, from Latin dīmēnsiō, dīmēnsiōn-, extent, from dīmēnsus, past participle of dīmētīrī, to measure out : dī-, dis-, dis- + mētīrī, to measure; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“But because human minds and societies can improve things over time, and compound that improvement in virtuous circles, the future in this dimension is a gain.”
“The primary dimension is the basic issue of the role of the government in the economy, in modern terms liberal-moderate-conservative.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » 13 States File Suit Against Health Care Reform
“The ecclesial, communional, hierarchical and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable for any authentic mission, and this alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness", he said.”
The Pope on the Correct Reading of the Council and Avoiding Discontinuity
“It would just mean that one dimension is redundant.”
Matthew Yglesias » Is The Universe a Hologram? Should We Care?
“The use of telegraph wires and train tracks, cattle cars etc to suggest shifts in distance and dimension is particularly skillful.”
“In any cases I honesty thing the aesthetic dimension is a great motivator.”
“They are microscopic in dimension - about the width of a human hair - and can be made in a range of sizes to view different-sized objects.”
“Nevertheless, the marketing imperative “means that the progressive and ethical dimension is all too often undermined by the perceived need to sanitize content”, as John Gray (2002) points out.”
“The third basically unknown dimension is how hard Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage labored to ameliorate the GITMO situation from almost dayone.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Andrew McCarthy Sticks to His Guns (And He May Be Pointing Them at You Next)
“As it turns out, just a few meters from this lab, in the fifth dimension, is the bottom of the Marianas Trench.”
365 tomorrows » featured writer : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day
Lists
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chiaroscuro, architrave, column, capital, corinthian, dorice, entablature, frieze, ionic, sketch, abecedarian, abstraction and 124 more...

mollusque Criterion: criteria :: dimension : dimensia Jan 5, 2009