Standard Lemma guide

gradient

adj · noun · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈɡɹeɪdiənt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪdiənt
  • CMU ARPABET: G R EY1 D IY0 AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Moving by steps; walking.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • the gradient line of a railroad

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Using the gradient to solve a problem.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Qualifier: optimization

Topics: calculus, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A slope or incline.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

The ratio of the rates of change of a dependent variable and an independent variable, the slope of a curve's tangent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: calculus, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A differential operator that maps each point of a scalar field to a vector pointed in the direction of the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: ∇φ

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: calculus, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A gradual change in color; a color gradient; gradation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a five-degree gradient

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: slope

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: position, spatial relation

Narrower terms: grade, pitch, rake, slant, abruptness, precipitousness, steepness, gradualness, gentleness

12

noun

Meaning 12

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change

Narrower terms: concentration gradient, gravity gradient, temperature gradient

History

Etymology

From Latin gradiēns, present participle of gradior (“to step, to walk”).

Across languages

Translations

108 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: градиентен (gradienten) — calculus, optimization: using the gradient
  • Bulgarian: склон (sklon) — slope or incline
  • Czech: sklon — slope or incline
  • Czech: svah — slope or incline
  • Dutch: richtingscoëfficiënt — slope or incline
  • Esperanto: gradiento — slope or incline
  • Finnish: rinne — slope or incline
  • Finnish: pengerrys — slope or incline
  • French: pente — slope or incline
  • German: Steigung — slope or incline
  • German: Gefälle — slope or incline
  • German: Neigung — slope or incline
  • Hindi: ढाल (ḍhāl) — slope or incline
  • Indonesian: tanjakan — slope or incline
  • Irish: grádán — slope or incline
  • Macedonian: на́клон (náklon) — slope or incline
  • Macedonian: стр́мнина (stŕmnina) — slope or incline
  • Maltese: pendil — slope or incline
  • Maltese: mejla — slope or incline
  • Māori: panaunga — slope or incline
  • Māori: tāwhatinga — slope or incline
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stigning — slope or incline
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stigning — slope or incline
  • Polish: zbocze — slope or incline
  • Scottish Gaelic: àrdachadh — slope or incline
  • Serbo-Croatian: nagib — slope or incline
  • Spanish: gradiente — slope or incline
  • Swedish: lutning — slope or incline
  • Bulgarian: наклон (naklon) — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Catalan: gradient — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Czech: sklon — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Dutch: verhang — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Finnish: kaltevuus — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • French: pente — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • German: Steigung — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • German: Gefälle — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • German: Neigung — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Hindi: प्रवणता (pravaṇtā) — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Indonesian: gradien — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Indonesian: kemiringan — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Irish: grádán — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Macedonian: на́клон (náklon) — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Maltese: pendil — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stigning — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stigning — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Portuguese: gradiente — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Scottish Gaelic: àrdachadh — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Serbo-Croatian: gradijent — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Spanish: gradiente — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Swedish: lutning — rate of inclination or declination of a slope
  • Armenian: գրադիենտ (gradient) — in calculus
  • Bulgarian: градиент (gradient) — in calculus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 梯度 (tīdù) — in calculus
  • Czech: sklon — in calculus
  • Dutch: gradiënt — in calculus
  • Esperanto: gradiento — in calculus
  • Finnish: gradientti — in calculus
  • French: gradient — in calculus
  • German: Gradient — in calculus
  • Greek: εφαπτομένη (efaptoméni) — in calculus
  • Greek: συντελεστής διεύθυνσης (syntelestís diéfthynsis) — in calculus
  • Hindi: प्रवणता (pravaṇtā) — in calculus
  • Hungarian: hradiens — in calculus
  • Indonesian: gradien — in calculus
  • Irish: grádán — in calculus
  • Italian: gradiente — in calculus
  • Portuguese: gradiente — in calculus
  • Russian: градие́нт (gradijént) — in calculus
  • Serbo-Croatian: gradijent — in calculus
  • Spanish: gradiente — in calculus
  • Armenian: գրադիենտ (gradient) — in physics
  • Bulgarian: градиент (gradient) — in physics
  • Catalan: gradient — in physics
  • Dutch: gradiënt — in physics
  • Finnish: gradientti — in physics
  • French: gradient — in physics
  • German: Gradient — in physics
  • Hindi: प्रवणता (pravaṇtā) — in physics
  • Italian: gradiente — in physics
  • Portuguese: gradiente — in physics
  • Russian: градие́нт (gradijént) — in physics
  • Serbo-Croatian: gradijent — in physics
  • Spanish: gradiente — in physics
  • Armenian: գրադիենտ (gradient) — in vector algebra
  • Bulgarian: градиент (gradient) — in vector algebra
  • Chinese Mandarin: 梯度 (tīdù) — in vector algebra
  • Dutch: gradiënt — in vector algebra
  • Esperanto: gradiento — in vector algebra
  • Finnish: gradientti — in vector algebra
  • French: gradient — in vector algebra
  • German: Gradient — in vector algebra
  • Italian: gradiente — in vector algebra
  • Polish: gradient — in vector algebra
  • Russian: градие́нт (gradijént) — in vector algebra
  • Serbo-Croatian: gradijent — in vector algebra
  • Spanish: gradiente — in vector algebra
  • Swedish: gradient — in vector algebra
  • Bulgarian: градиент (gradient) — change in color
  • Finnish: liukuväri — change in color
  • French: dégradé — change in color
  • German: Übergang — change in color
  • German: Farbübergang — change in color
  • Hebrew: מִדְרָג (midrág) — change in color
  • Indonesian: gradasi — change in color
  • Polish: gradient — change in color
  • Portuguese: gradiente — change in color
  • Portuguese: degradê — change in color
  • Swedish: färggradient — change in color
Real reading context

gradient in complete knowledge articles