- a property of space; extension in a given direction: A straight line has one dimension, a parallelogram has two dimensions, and a parallelepiped has three dimensions.
- the generalization of this property to spaces with curvilinear extension, as the surface of a sphere.
- the generalization of this property to vector spaces and to Hilbert space.
- the generalization of this property to fractals, which can have dimensions that are noninteger real numbers.
- extension in time: Space-time has three dimensions of space and one of time.
- measurement in length, width, and thickness.
- scope; importance: the dimensions of a problem.
- a magnitude that, independently or in conjunction with other such magnitudes, serves to define the location of an element within a given set, as of a point on a line, an object in a space, or an event in space-time.
- the number of elements in a finite basis of a given vector space.
verb (used with object)
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Origin of dimension
OTHER WORDS FROM dimension
Words nearby dimension
Example sentences from the Web for dimension
Almost every dimension of inequity has been accentuated here.‘There’s been some cracks:’ Bill Gates questions FDA’s credibility on a COVID-19 vaccine|Claire Zillman, reporter|September 16, 2020|Fortune
At times he’s proposed worlds where the rules of the universe that we take for granted — about space, dimensions, the human body, the nature of dreams — are bent into strange new shapes.The ancient palindrome that explains Christopher Nolan’s Tenet|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
All the while, lidar measured the exact dimensions of their bodies.A robot referee can really keep its ‘eye’ on the ball|Kathryn Hulick|August 20, 2020|Science News For Students
Psychologists call this misleading feeling of helplessness the “pseudoinefficacy effect,” and it has a political dimension that may keep individuals from working to help others.Generation Z is ‘traumatized’ by climate change—and they’re the key to fighting it|matthewheimer|August 19, 2020|Fortune
A simple argument shows that once the conjecture is false in one dimension, it’s necessarily false in all higher dimensions.
A Europe which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of life is a Europe which risks slowly losing its own soul.
Underneath, a miniature version of the bug-crazy man is revealed, himself thwacking away in an alternate dimension.‘Interstellar’ Is Wildly Ambitious, Very Flawed, and Absolutely Worth Seeing|Marlow Stern|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There needs to be a fully thought out strategy with a political dimension that involves the opposition.Military Hates White House ‘Micromanagement’ of ISIS War|Josh Rogin, Eli Lake|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Trippy, echoing sound effects give “A Brain In A Bottle” a sense of fullness and dimension—as they do for “Guess Again!”Newest Album From Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Is No Online Afterthought|Noel Murray|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the case of Hollywood actresses, too, this expectation takes on an even more pernicious dimension.Jennifer Lawrence Shouldn’t Laugh Off Her Nude Photo Hack|Samantha Allen|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For copying by engraving, &c. the exact dimension required of any picture may at once be given to be copied from.
By varying the distances between a and c, and c and b, any dimension required may be given to the positive impression.
It was a genuine western, with high horn and high cantle and two cinches, but much reduced in every dimension.David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
Dimension lines and centre lines are best put in of different colour.
The arrow-heads at the ends of the dimension lines are now put in with black ink, and so are the figures for the dimensions.
British Dictionary definitions for dimension
- the product or the quotient of the fundamental physical quantities (such as mass, length, or time) raised to the appropriate power in a derived physical quantitythe dimensions of velocity are length divided by time
- the power to which such a fundamental quantity has to be raised in a derived quantity
- to shape or cut to specified dimensions
- to mark with specified dimensions
Derived forms of dimensiondimensional, adjectivedimensionality, noundimensionally, adverbdimensionless, adjective
Word Origin for dimension
Medical definitions for dimension
Scientific definitions for dimension
- Any one of the three physical or spatial properties of length, area, and volume. In geometry, a point is said to have zero dimension; a figure having only length, such as a line, has one dimension; a plane or surface, two dimensions; and a figure having volume, three dimensions. The fourth dimension is often said to be time, as in the theory of General Relativity. Higher dimensions can be dealt with mathematically but cannot be represented visually.
- The measurement of a length, width, or thickness.