reference frame

noun

, Physics.

1. frame of reference ( def 2 ).

reference frame

/ rĕf′ər-əns /

1. A basis of a four-dimensional coordinate system in which the first coordinate is understood as a time coordinate, while the other three coordinates represent spatial dimensions. Inertial frames and non-inertial frames are both examples of reference frames.
2. Also called frame of reference
3. See also General Relativity

Word History and Origins

Origin of reference frame¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Your brain moves through reference frames to recall facts that it has stored in different locations.

From MIT Technology Review

At the proper instant I shifted again, to the reference frame of this Galaxy itself.

From Project Gutenberg