Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A closed line bounding a plane area.
  • noun The length of such a line.
  • noun The outer limits of an area. synonym: circumference.
  • noun A defended boundary protecting a military position.
  • noun Basketball The three-point line.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The circumference, border, or outer boundary of a superficial figure; also, the measure of this boundary.
  • noun An instrument for determining the visual power of different parts of the retina and plotting areas of distinct vision.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Geom.) The outer boundary of a body or figure, or the sum of all the sides.
  • noun An instrument for determining the extent and shape of the field of vision.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mathematics The sum of the distance of all the lengths of the sides of an object.
  • noun The outer limits of an area. See Synonyms at circumference.
  • noun mathematics The length of such a boundary.
  • noun A fortified strip or boundary usually protecting a military position.
  • noun An instrument for determining the extent and shape of the field of vision.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a line enclosing a plane areas
  • noun the boundary line or the area immediately inside the boundary
  • noun the size of something as given by the distance around it

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English perimetre, from Latin perimetros, from Greek : peri-, peri- + metron, measure; see meter.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek περίμετρος.

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Examples

  • And he wanted any analyses that have been done to explain the implications of using the term "perimeter security," the rejection by some people of that term, and the approaches that might be adopted by the government to sell it to the public.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Gloria Galloway 2011

  • The rete rotates freely, and on the perimeter is a little prayer, which reads: "Oh great god of all bicycles,/Grant me safe passage,/Through the cars that kill, potholes that maim,/And glass that deflates my tires and my spirits."

    Archive 2007-04-01 Heather McDougal 2007

  • The rete rotates freely, and on the perimeter is a little prayer, which reads: "Oh great god of all bicycles,/Grant me safe passage,/Through the cars that kill, potholes that maim,/And glass that deflates my tires and my spirits."

    Astrolabes, old and new Heather McDougal 2007

  • HUTTO: Actually inside what we call our perimeter, the heskos (ph) themselves.

    CNN Transcript Sep 14, 2007 2007

  • HUTTO: Actually inside what we call our perimeter, the heskos themselves.

    CNN Transcript Sep 14, 2007 2007

  • From festive scenes of just days ago, the revolt has become more martial, as exhausted men defend what they describe as the perimeter of a free Egypt around Tahrir Square.

    NYT > Home Page By ANTHONY SHADID 2011

  • With the Conservative government trying to negotiate a comprehensive security agreement with its counterparts in Washington, Ottawa-based researcher Ken Rubin used federal Access to Information legislation to ask the Public Safety department for documents related to the definition of the term "perimeter security" in the context of the Canada-U.S. border.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Gloria Galloway 2011

  • From festive scenes of just days ago, the revolt has become more martial, as exhausted men defend what they describe as the perimeter of a free Egypt around Tahrir Square.

    NYT > Global Home By ANTHONY SHADID 2011

  • From festive scenes of just days ago, the revolt has become more martial, as exhausted men defend what they describe as the perimeter of a free

    NYT > Home Page By ANTHONY SHADID 2011

  • So the entire security perimeter is really meant to defend the physical structure of the memorial.

    Security at the Jefferson Memorial Philip Kennicott 2010

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