GRADIENT

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal

Example:

a five-degree gradient

Synonyms:

gradient; slope

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)

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

grade (the gradient of a slope or road or other surface)

pitch; rake; slant (degree of deviation from a horizontal plane)

abruptness; precipitousness; steepness (the property possessed by a slope that is very steep)

gentleness; gradualness (the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

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

change (a relational difference between states; especially between states before and after some event)

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

concentration gradient (a gradient in concentration of a solute as a function of distance through a solution)

gravity gradient (a gradient in the gravitational forces acting on different parts of a nonspherical object)

temperature gradient (change in temperature as a function of distance (especially altitude))

Credits

Context examples:

Non-Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels are membrane-associated protein-based structures that regulate the movement of calcium ions through cellular membranes, independent of the transmembrane potential gradient, to affect cellular homeostatic conditions and/or signaling processes.

(Non-Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channel, NCI Thesaurus)

Earth's mantle is usually shown in a yellow-to-orange gradient, a nebulously defined layer between the crust and the core.

(Earth's mantle looks like a painting, National Science Foundation)

This agent may be used as a hypoxia marker for detecting oxygen gradients in living tissues.

(Pimonidazole Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

AFD neurons also sense temperature, carbon dioxide, and moisture gradients.

(Magnetic Field Sensor Unearthed in Worms, NIH)

The only effect was that the larger ones became detached and threatened to roll down the gradient and crush us.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Examples include cell affinity chromatography and centrifugation using density gradients.

(Cell Sorting, NCI Thesaurus)

Testing the RF shield around the coils of an MRI device for its ability to provide effective screening against electrical (eddy) currents induced by gradient switching.

(Device Gradient Induced Field Effect Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

Chemotaxis Inhibition involves interference with, or restraint of, characteristic movement or orientation of an organism or cell along a chemical concentration gradient either toward or away from the chemical stimulus.

(Chemotaxis Inhibition, NCI Thesaurus)

Chemotaxis Induction involves initiation of characteristic movement or orientation of an organism or cell along a chemical concentration gradient either toward or away from a chemical stimulus.

(Chemotaxis Induction, NCI Thesaurus)

Osmotic Activity is a passive process in which water diffuses across a cell membrane in response to a concentration gradient.