ALTITUDE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does altitude mean? 

• ALTITUDE (noun)
  The noun ALTITUDE has 3 senses:

1. elevation especially above sea level or above the earth's surface

2. the perpendicular distance from the base of a geometric figure to the opposite vertex (or side if parallel)

3. angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)

  Familiarity information: ALTITUDE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALTITUDE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Elevation especially above sea level or above the earth's surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

altitude; height

Context example:

the altitude gave her a headache

Hypernyms ("altitude" is a kind of...):

elevation (distance of something above a reference point (such as sea level))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "altitude"):

level (height above ground)

ceiling ((meteorology) altitude of the lowest layer of clouds)

ceiling (maximum altitude at which a plane can fly (under specified conditions))

Derivation:

altitudinal (pertaining to altitude)

altitudinous (indefinitely high; lofty)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The perpendicular distance from the base of a geometric figure to the opposite vertex (or side if parallel)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("altitude" is a kind of...):

distance; length (size of the gap between two places)

Derivation:

altitudinal (pertaining to altitude)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

ALT; altitude; EL; elevation

Hypernyms ("altitude" is a kind of...):

angular position (relation by which any position with respect to any other position is established)

Derivation:

altitudinal (pertaining to altitude)

 Context examples 

Pilots flying at high altitude, for instance, may experience vision impairment if planes fail to supplement cockpits with additional oxygen.

(Low ocean oxygen levels can blind sea creatures, National Science Foundation)

Within months following the equinox, the vortex in the stratosphere over the south pole had become prominent, as had an atmospheric "hot spot" at high altitudes.

(Cassini Sees Dramatic Seasonal Changes on Titan, NASA)

The study’s projections say warming-induced glacial melts will spike dangerously, increasing river flows, between 2050 and 2060, exacerbating the risk of high-altitude glacial lakes overflowing and, consequently, flooding communities.

(Bulk of Himalayan glaciers could vanish by 2100, SciDev.Net)

On Dec. 12, 2012, DXL launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico atop a NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket, reaching a peak altitude of 160 miles and spending five minutes above Earth's atmosphere.

(Evidence for supernovas near Earth, NASA)

Normally, titanium oxide in the atmospheres of hot Jupiters absorbs light and reradiates it as heat, making the atmosphere grow warmer at higher altitudes.

(Hubble Observes Exoplanet that Snows Sunscreen, NASA)

I might elevate my soul to all kinds of altitudes.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Multiple worlds in our own solar system, including Titan, are blanketed by clouds and high-altitude hazes.

(Sunsets on Titan reveal the complexity of hazy exoplanets, NASA)

NASA scientists have identified an unexpected high-altitude methane ice cloud on Saturn's moon Titan that is similar to exotic clouds found far above Earth's poles.

(NASA Finds Methane Ice Cloud in Titan's Stratosphere, NASA)

A change in altitude may cause your ears to hurt.

(Barotrauma, NIH)

At 29,035 feet (8,848 m) in altitude, the air is only one-third as thick as the air at sea level.

(Everest, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)