PROXIMITY

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does proximity mean? 

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

1. the property of being close together

2. the region close around a person or thing

3. a Gestalt principle of organization holding that (other things being equal) objects or events that are near to one another (in space or time) are perceived as belonging together as a unit

  Familiarity information: PROXIMITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROXIMITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property of being close together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

propinquity; proximity

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

closeness; nearness (the spatial property resulting from a relatively small distance)

Derivation:

proximal (situated nearest to point of attachment or origin)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The region close around a person or thing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

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

locality; neck of the woods; neighborhood; neighbourhood; vicinity (a surrounding or nearby region)

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

front; presence (the immediate proximity of someone or something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A Gestalt principle of organization holding that (other things being equal) objects or events that are near to one another (in space or time) are perceived as belonging together as a unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

law of proximity; proximity

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

Gestalt law of organization; Gestalt principle of organization (a principle of Gestalt psychology that identifies factors leading to particular forms of perceptual organization)

 Context examples 

Because of the planet's proximity to the star, it is tidally locked by gravity just as our moon is to Earth.

(Spitzer Maps Climate Patterns on a Super-Earth, NASA)

Rosetta is the first spacecraft to witness at close proximity how a comet changes as it is subjected to the increasing intensity of the sun's radiation.

(Final Descent Image from Rosetta Spacecraft, NASA)

Saturn's icy moons range in size depending on their proximity to the planet — the farther from the planet, the larger.

(Possible New Moon Forming Around Saturn, NASA)

Its close proximity to its parent star exposes it to ultraviolet radiation, and according to the calculations, the planet loses planetary material anywhere between ten billion to ten trillion grams each second.

(Astronomers reveal discovery of the hottest gas giant exoplanet known yet, Wikinews)

Due to its proximity to the star, planet b is an oven-hot world.

(NASA’s TESS Mission Scores ‘Hat Trick’ With 3 New Worlds, NASA)

Despite this proximity, Ross 128 b receives only 1.38 times more irradiation than the Earth.

(Closest Temperate World Orbiting Quiet Star Discovered, ESO)

The transmission, together, of 2 or more genes on the same chromosome, as a result of their being in very close physical proximity to one another (i.e., linked).

(Cosegregation, NCI Dictionary)

The soft tissues in close proximity to the testis.

(Paratesticular Soft Tissue, NCI Thesaurus)

These glands are usually located in close proximity to the thyroid gland.

(Parathyroid Gland Tissue, NCI Thesaurus)

A device with sound speakers designed to be worn on the head in proximity to the ears.

(Headphone Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)