Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The extent of space between two objects or places; an intervening space.
- noun The fact or condition of being apart in space; remoteness.
- noun Mathematics The length or numerical value of a straight line or curve.
- noun The extent of space between points on a measured course.
- noun The length of a race, especially of a horserace.
- noun A point or area that is far away.
- noun A depiction of a such a point or area.
- noun A stretch of space without designation of limit; an expanse.
- noun The extent of time between two events; an intervening period.
- noun A point removed in time.
- noun The full period or length of a contest or game.
- noun An amount of progress.
- noun Difference or disagreement.
- noun Emotional separateness or reserve; aloofness.
- transitive verb To place or keep at or as if at a distance.
- transitive verb To cause to appear at a distance.
- transitive verb To leave far behind; outrun.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To place at a distance; situate remotely.
- To cause to appear at a distance; cause to appear remote.
- In horse-racing, to beat in a race by at least the space between the distance-post and the winning-post; hence, to leave behind in a race; get far ahead of. See
distance , n., 3. - To get in advance of; gain a superiority over; outdo; excel.
- noun In psychology, extension in the third dimension; spatial depth.
- noun In painting, remoteness of objects as indicated by increased delicacy and harmony of color.
- noun The measure of the interval between two objects in space, or, by extension, between two points of time; the length of the straight line from one point to another, and hence of time intervening between one event or period and another: as, the distance between New York and San Francisco; the distance of two events from each other; a distance of five miles; events only the distance of an hour apart. In navigation distances are usually measured along rhumb-lines.
- noun A definite or measured space to be maintained between two divisions of a body of troops, two combatants in a duel, or the like: as (in command), take your distances.
- noun In horse-racing, the space measured back from the winning-post which a horse, in heat-races, must have reached when the winning horse has covered the whole course in order to be entitled to enter subsequent heats.
- noun In music, the interval or difference between two tones. See
interval . - noun Remoteness of place or time; a remote place or time: as, at a great distance; a light appeared in the distance.
- noun Remoteness in succession or relation: as, the distance between a descendant and his ancestor; there is a much greater distance between the ranks of major and captain than between those of captain and first lieutenant.
- noun Remoteness in intercourse; reserve of manner, induced by or manifesting reverence, respect, dignity, dislike, coldness or alienation of feeling, etc.
- noun Dissension; strife; disturbance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To place at a distance or remotely.
- transitive verb To cause to appear as if at a distance; to make seem remote.
- transitive verb To outstrip by as much as a distance (see
Distance , n., 3); to leave far behind; to surpass greatly. - noun The space between two objects; the length of a line, especially the shortest line joining two points or things that are separate; measure of separation in place.
- noun Remoteness of place; a remote place.
- noun (Racing) A space marked out in the last part of a race course.
- noun (Mil.) Relative space, between troops in ranks, measured from front to rear; -- contrasted with
interval , which is measured from right to left. - noun Space between two antagonists in fencing.
- noun (Painting) The part of a picture which contains the representation of those objects which are the farthest away, esp. in a landscape.
- noun Ideal disjunction; discrepancy; contrariety.
- noun Length or interval of time; period, past or future, between two eras or events.
- noun The remoteness or reserve which respect requires; hence, respect; ceremoniousness.
- noun A withholding of intimacy; alienation; coldness; disagreement; variance; restraint; reserve.
- noun Remoteness in succession or relation.
- noun (Mus.) The interval between two notes.
- noun the distance made at the eye by lines drawn from the eye to two objects.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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As the distance from the horizon to the zenith is 90°, the difference, or _complement_ of the altitude, is called the _zenith distance_, or _co-altitude_.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882 Various
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Thus in the case of any electrified body, acting on an unelectrified body at a distance, it has to be definitely understood that _the action at a distance_ is alone communicated and propagated by the dielectric or medium which exists between the two bodies.
Aether and Gravitation William George Hooper
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Coulomb, a Frenchman, is the author of a system of measurements of the electric current, and he it was who discovered that the action of electricity varies, not with the distance, but, like gravity, _in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance_.
Steam, Steel and Electricity James W. Steele
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He demonstrated that the invisible limbs of the psychic cannot only move objects at a distance, _but that they can feel at a distance_.
The Shadow World Hamlin Garland 1900
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I guess your mother sized it up about right when I said all I asked was to worship you at a distance, and she said she guessed you would look out for the _distance.
The Coast of Bohemia William Dean Howells 1878
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[142] In a severe reprimand addressed to Captain Carkett, commanding the leading ship of the English line, by Rodney, he says: "Your leading in the manner you did, induced others to follow so bad an example; and thereby, forgetting that the signal for the line was at only two cables 'length distance from each other, the van division was led by you to _more than two leagues distance_ from the centre division, which was thereby exposed to the greatest strength of the enemy and not properly supported" (Life, vol.i. p. 351).
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Although, therefore, it may be contended that the swollen carcass of a drowned exotic deer might be borne along a diluvial wave to a considerable distance, and its bones ultimately deposited far from its native soil, _it is not credible that all the solid shed antlers of such species of deer could be carried by the same cause to the same distance_; or that any of them could be rolled for a short distance, with other heavy debris of a mighty torrent, without fracture and signs of friction.
The Testimony of the Rocks or, Geology in Its Bearings on the Two Theologies, Natural and Revealed Hugh Miller 1829
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Maryn Smith, the winner of the National Geographic planetary mnemonic contest, has created a handy way to remember the planets and their order in distance from the sun.
My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants - NASA Watch 2008
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Maryn Smith, the winner of the National Geographic planetary mnemonic contest, has created a handy way to remember the planets and their order in distance from the sun.
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That earth is #3 in distance from the sun is a factoid.
728183748 commented on the word distance
Is there a word for “inaccurate judgement of distances”?
November 3, 2011
bilby commented on the word distance
A chouli-bouli inspired by GNU Webster's 1913:
Ideal disjunction, measured from front to rear; the
Interval between a remote place;
Space between the representation of two antagonists in alienation, esp. in
A landscape;
Remoteness in respect; disagreement; the
Interval between two notes of time in succession, past or future; the
Last part of ceremoniousness;
Events measured left to right in
Relative space of contrariety;
Discrepancy of intimacy, a witholding; to surpass greatly
Coldness of those objects which are
Farthest away.
May 30, 2012