the great circle of the earth with a latitude of 0°, lying equidistant from the poles; dividing the N and S hemispheres a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two equal symmetrical parts - See magnetic equator
- See celestial equator
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
e•qua•tor /ɪˈkweɪtɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Geographyan imaginary line that is thought of as circling the earth and is the same distance from the North Pole and South Pole.
e•qua•tor
(i kwā′tər),USA pronunciation n.
- Geography, Place Namesthe great circle on a sphere or heavenly body whose plane is perpendicular to the axis, equidistant everywhere from the two poles of the sphere or heavenly body.
- Geographythe great circle of the earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.
- a circle separating a surface into two congruent parts.
- AstronomySee celestial equator.
- Medieval Latin aequātor, Latin: equalizer (of day and night, as when the sun crosses the equator). See equate, -tor
- Middle English 1350–1400
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'toward the equator' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):