gradient

[ grey-dee-uhnt ]

noun

1. the degree of inclination, or the rate of ascent or descent, in a highway, railroad, etc.
2. an inclined surface; grade; ramp.
3. Physics.
   1. the rate of change with respect to distance of a variable quantity, as temperature or pressure, in the direction of maximum change.
   2. a curve representing such a rate of change.
4. Mathematics. a differential operator that, operating upon a function of several variables, results in a vector the coordinates of which are the partial derivatives of the function. : grad. : ∇

adjective

1. rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.
2. progressing by walking; stepping with the feet as animals do.
3. of a type suitable for walking or running, as the feet of certain birds; gressorial.

gradient

/ ˈɡreɪdɪənt /

noun

1. Also called (esp US)grade a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination
2. Also called (esp US and Canadian)grade a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them
3. physics a measure of the change of some physical quantity, such as temperature or electric potential, over a specified distance
4. maths
   1. (of a curve) the slope of the tangent at any point on a curve with respect to the horizontal axis
   2. (of a function, f ( x, y, z )) the vector whose components along the axes are the partial derivatives of the function with respect to each variable, and whose direction is that in which the derivative of the function has its maximum value. Usually written: grad f , ∇ f or ∇ f Compare curl divergence

adjective

1. sloping uniformly

gradient

/ grā′dē-ənt /

1. The degree to which something inclines; a slope. A mountain road with a gradient of ten percent rises one foot for every ten feet of horizontal length.
2. The rate at which a physical quantity, such as temperature or pressure changes over a distance.
3. A operator on scalar fields yielding a vector function, where the value of the vector evaluated at any point indicates the direction and degree of change of the field at that point.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gradient¹

1635–45; < Latin gradient- (stem of gradiēns ), present participle of gradī to walk, go, equivalent to grad- walk + -i- thematic vowel + -ent- -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of gradient¹

C19: from Latin gradiēns stepping, from gradī to go

Example Sentences

In protein design, gradient descent can be used to compare the structure of new proteins predicted by AlphaFold2 with the desired protein structure.

From Science Daily

ANE generates an electrical voltage in a magnetic metal that is perpendicular to the magnetisation and a temperature gradient.

From Science Daily

"The framework for analyzing this collective behavior resides in the fundamental pheromone concentration gradient, then working from there," Karamched said.

From Science Daily

When it comes to the vexing problem of red or any other gradient, when we both agree that a thing is some color, is it really exactly the same as the color in your mind?

From Salon

I can sit there and see the gradient of no sun to sun and it just changes everything.

From Los Angeles Times