dimension

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length.
2. n. Extent or magnitude; scope. Often used in the plural: a problem of alarming dimensions.
3. n. Aspect; element: "He's a good newsman, and he has that extra dimension” ( William S. Paley).
4. n. Mathematics The least number of independent coordinates required to specify uniquely the points in a space.
5. n. Mathematics The range of such a coordinate.
6. 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.
7. v. To cut or shape to specified dimensions.
8. v. To mark with specified dimensions.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. n. Bulk; size; extent or capacity: commonly in the plural: as, the question is assuming great dimensions.
4. n. That which has extension; matter; especially, the human body and its organs: so often in the plural.
5. To measure the dimensions of; proportion.

Wiktionary

1. n. A single aspect of a given thing.
2. n. A measure of spatial extent in a particular direction, such as height, width or breadth, or depth.
3. n. A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished.
4. n. geometry The number of independent coordinates needed to specify uniquely the location of a point in a space; also, any of such independent coordinates.
5. n. linear algebra The number of elements of any basis of a vector space.
6. n. physics One of the physical properties that are regarded as fundamental measures of a physical quantity, such as mass, length and time.
7. n. computing Any of the independent ranges of indices in a multidimensional array.
8. n. science fiction, fantasy An alternative universe or plane of existence.
9. v. transitive To mark, cut or shape something to specified dimensions.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. 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.
2. n. Extent; reach; scope; importance.
3. n. (Math.) The degree of manifoldness of a quantity
4. n. (Alg.) A literal factor, as numbered in characterizing a term. The term dimensions forms with the cardinal numbers a phrase equivalent to degree with the ordinal; thus, a2b2c is a term of five dimensions, or of the fifth degree.
5. n. (Phys.) 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

1. n. a construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished
2. n. one of three Cartesian coordinates that determine a position in space
3. n. magnitude or extent
4. v. indicate the dimensions on
5. v. shape or form to required dimensions
6. n. the magnitude of something in a particular direction (especially length or width or height)