gradient

A slope or incline.

Adjective

  1. Moving by steps; walking.
    • movable and Gradient Automata - 1648, John Wilkins, Mathematicall Magick. Or, The Wonders that may be Performed by Mechanicall Geometry. […], London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Sa[muel] Gellibrand […], →OCLC:
  2. Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.
    • the gradient line of a railroad
  3. Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.
  4. Using the gradient to solve a problem.

Origin

From Latin gradiēns, present participle of gradior (“to step, to walk”).

Noun

  1. A slope or incline.
  2. A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.
    • Just beyond that station the first step is encountered and the rack resorted to, taking the line on a gradient of 1 in 9 over a steeply inclined bridge and through a spiral tunnel. - 1950 November, H. P. White, “The...
  3. The ratio of the rates of change of a dependent variable and an independent variable, the slope of a curve's tangent.
  4. The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
  5. A differential operator that maps each point of a scalar field to a vector pointed in the direction of the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: ∇φ
  6. A gradual change in color; a color gradient; gradation.

Forms

gradients

Synonyms

hill incline ramp slope grade angular coefficient

Derived

chemogradient countergradient downgradient electrogradient enterogradient extragradient gradient descent gradientless gradiently gradient post gradient wind intergradient microgradient multigradient nanogradient nongradient pressure gradient pressure gradient force ruling gradient subgradient supergradient temperature gradient thermogradient upgradient