gradient

UK: /ˈgreɪdiənt/ US: /ˈgreɪdiənt/ ,(grā′dē ənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gra•di•ent /ˈgreɪdiənt/   n. [countable]

1. Civil Engineering the degree at which a highway, railroad, etc., slopes up or down:
   a steep gradient.
2. Physics the rate of change, as of distance, temperature, or pressure, as shown or represented by a curve in a graph.

See -grad-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gra•di•ent  (grā′dē ənt), n. 

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.]
   • the rate of change with respect to distance of a variable quantity, as temperature or pressure, in the direction of maximum change.
   • a curve representing such a rate of change.
4. [Math.] 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. Abbr.: grad. Symbol: ∇

adj. 

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

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

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

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. a measure of the change of some physical quantity, such as temperature or electric potential, over a specified distance
4. (of a curve) the slope of the tangent at any point on a curve with respect to the horizontal axis

adjective

1. sloping uniformly

Etymology: 19th Century: from Latin gradiēns stepping, from gradī to go