gradient
/ˈɡreɪdiənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɡreɪdiənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgrā-dē-ənt/ (ame, mw)
gradient — noun
- gradientsingular
- gradientsplural
1. a measurement of how steep a surface such as a road, path, or railway line is, o
a measurement of how steep a surface such as a road, path, or railway line is, often shown as a percentage on warning signs or in engineering plans
The old mountain road has a 15 percent gradient that makes driving difficult in icy weather.
road sign warning: [number] percent gradient
Tuan checked the gradient of each cycling route on his app before heading out.
The gentle gradient of the park path made it ideal for Zuri's daily wheelchair walks.
Christopher noticed the gradient of the driveway was too steep for his grandmother's walking frame.
Railway gradients over 2 percent need strong engines to pull freight cars uphill.
- level ground
a surface with no slope at all
- flatness
the quality of being horizontal, without incline
文法句型
[adjective] gradient
[number] percent gradient
gradient of [noun]
用法筆記
Frequently used with a specific percentage (e.g., 'a 10% gradient') or with adjectives such as steep or gentle. Road, railway, and hiking contexts are the most common for this sense.
常見錯誤
2. the speed at which a measurable property such as temperature, air pressure, or c
the speed at which a measurable property such as temperature, air pressure, or chemical concentration increases or decreases as you move from one location to another
Farmers in the valley monitor the temperature gradient each spring to protect crops from frost.
collocation: temperature gradient
The pressure gradient inside the hurricane drove winds at over 150 kilometres an hour.
collocation: pressure gradient
Vikram calculated the concentration gradient between the two liquids for his chemistry experiment.
A steep thermal gradient near the volcano creates warm underwater currents that fish gather around.
Isabela measured the salinity gradient across the estuary for her marine biology project.
- rate of change
broader term; can apply to any variable over any dimension, not just spatial
- differential
mathematical term for an instantaneous rate of change
- slope
used in mathematics for the steepness of a line on a graph, which represents a rate of change
文法句型
[quantity] gradient
gradient of [quantity]
gradient across [region]
用法筆記
The specific quantity is named before 'gradient' (e.g., temperature gradient, salinity gradient). This sense is most common in scientific writing — meteorology, oceanography, physics, and chemistry. Distinguish from sense 1 (STEEPNESS OF SLOPE), where 'gradient' refers to the physical steepness of a surface rather than the rate of change of an abstract quantity.