gradient

/ˈɡreɪdiənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɡreɪdiənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgrā-dē-ənt/ (ame, mw)

gradient — 名詞

  • gradientsingular
  • gradientsplural

1. a measurement of how steep a surface such as a road, path, or railway line is, o

1.名詞B2
釋義

坡度

路面或斜面的傾斜程度

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

例句

The old mountain road has a 15 percent gradient that makes driving difficult in icy weather.

那條舊山路有 15% 的坡度，在天氣結冰的時候開車非常困難。

road sign warning: [number] percent gradient

Tuan checked the gradient of each cycling route on his app before heading out.

出發前，Tuan 用 App 查了每條自行車路線的坡度。

同義詞
  • slope

    more general; refers to any angled surface, not just the degree of steepness

  • incline

    slightly more formal; often used for man-made surfaces like ramps

  • grade

    common in North American English for road or railway steepness

  • pitch

    usually refers to the angle of a roof or staircase

反義詞

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

❌The gradient of this hill is very gradient.
✅The gradient of this hill is very steep.
💡'Gradient' is a noun, not an adjective. Use 'steep' or 'gentle' to describe the degree of a gradient.

2. the speed at which a measurable property such as temperature, air pressure, or c

2.名詞C1
釋義

梯度

物理量在空間中的變化率

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

例句

Farmers in the valley monitor the temperature gradient each spring to protect crops from frost.

山谷裡的農夫每年春天監測溫度梯度，以保護作物不受霜害。

collocation: temperature gradient

The pressure gradient inside the hurricane drove winds at over 150 kilometres an hour.

颶風內部的氣壓梯度帶來了超過每小時一百五十公里的風速。

collocation: pressure gradient

同義詞
  • 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.

常見錯誤

❌The temperature grade across the room was 5 degrees.
✅The temperature gradient across the room was 5 degrees.
💡'Grade' refers to a level, quality, or rank; 'gradient' is the correct term for a rate of change of a physical quantity over distance.