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View synonyms for equator

equator

[ ih-kwey-ter ]

noun

  1. the 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.
  2. the great circle of the earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.
  3. a circle separating a surface into two congruent parts.


equator

/ ɪˈkweɪtə /

noun

  1. the great circle of the earth with a latitude of 0°, lying equidistant from the poles; dividing the N and S hemispheres
  2. a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two equal symmetrical parts
  3. astronomy See celestial equator


equator

/ ĭ-kwātər /

  1. An imaginary line forming a great circle around the Earth's surface, equidistant from the poles and in a plane perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. It divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres and is the basis from which latitude is measured.
  2. A similar circle on the surface of any celestial body.
  3. The celestial equator.


equator

  1. An imaginary circle around the Earth , equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole .


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Word History and Origins

Origin of equator1

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin aequātor, Latin: equalizer (of day and night, as when the sun crosses the equator). See equate, -tor

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Word History and Origins

Origin of equator1

C14: from Medieval Latin ( circulus ) aequātor ( diei et noctis ) (circle) that equalizes (the day and night), from Latin aequāre to make equal

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Example Sentences

The measurements suggest that the asteroid’s rubble pile is unevenly distributed along its surface and is especially light at the asteroid’s equator.

It’s not perfectly round, but larger and cooler at its equator than at the poles, making the poles of the star appear brighter.

Scientists usually forecast flu seasons’ severity in the north by watching what happens south of the equator, where flu season falls in the middle of the year.

All of the familiar ones orbit in a single plane aligned with the Sun's equator and move in the same direction.

They run parallel to the ground and point toward the equator.

Yasuni Natonal Park, where the equator meets the Andes, is famed for its fabulous variety of plants and animals.

An orbit near the equator was important for a variety of reasons.

Those storms kicked up in the collision zone around the equator spin westward off the coast of Cape Verde.

And yet the trees are cultivated in every country within 15 degrees of the Equator, so a virtual cocoa belt encircles the globe.

It is about three leagues wide and is forty-four and one half degrees from the Equator.

The difference in the length of day and night decreases more and more the nearer you approach the Equator.

It was of a cylindrical shape, having a deep zone at the equator, and a containing capacity of about 300 feet.

This covering extends rather less far toward the planet's equator than does the snow sheet on our continents.

Then let us imagine the particle moving toward the equator with the speed of an ordinary wind.

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equativeequatorial