spatial
adjective
spa·tial
| \ ˈspā-shəl
\
\
variants:
or less commonly spacial
Definition of spatial
1
: relating to, occupying, or having the character of space
2
: of, relating to, or involved in the perception of relationships (as of objects) in space
tests of spatial ability spatial memory
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Other Words from spatial
spatiality
\ ˌspā-shē-ˈa-lə-tē
\
or less commonly spaciality
noun
\
or less commonly spaciality
noun
spatially
\ ˈspā-sh(ə-)lē
\
or less commonly spacially
adverb
\
or less commonly spacially
adverb
Examples of spatial in a Sentence
When patients have this kind of problem, they can't feel the relationship between their body and their feet, so they must rely on visual cues to keep themselves upright. Without these cues, they lose their spatial orientation and fall.
— John Pettinato, Discover, October 2004
Williams syndrome, which was first described in 1961, results when a group of genes on one copy of chromosome 7 is deleted during embryonic development. Most people with Williams resemble each other more than they do their families, with wide-set hazel eyes, upturned noses, and wide mouths. They also share a peculiar set of mental impairments. Most stumble over the simplest spatial tasks, such as putting together a puzzle, and many not read or write beyond the level of a first grader.
— U.S. News & World Report, 15 June 1998
Several new ground-based and orbiting astronomical facilities that could provide high spatial and spectral resolution appear technologically ready for development during the next several decades.
— Robert D. Gehrz et al., Science, 25 May 1984
the spatial dimensions of a room
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Recent Examples on the Web
Ill-equipped with porous borders and limited spatial capacity (Trinidad and Tobago is slightly larger than Rhode Island), small islands have struggled to formulate an adequate response. — Safiya Charles, The New Republic, "Trump’s Venezuela Policy Is Causing Turmoil in the Caribbean," 9 Aug. 2019 There’s one key difference between the universal scaling phenomenon in far-from-equilibrium systems and the fractal eddies in a turbulent fluid: In the fluid case, Kolmogorov’s law describes energy cascading across spatial dimensions. — Quanta Magazine, "The Universal Law That Aims Time’s Arrow," 1 Aug. 2019 Japan believes Hosomi was the victim of spatial disorientation and inadvertently flew his fighter jet into the sea during a training flight. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The F-35 Is Getting a Life-Saving Autopilot Feature," 24 July 2019 Previously, team member Justin Gallegos said the invention is meant to attach cameras to the outside of the space station to give astronauts more spatial awareness. — Chevall Pryce, Houston Chronicle, "Cy-Fair college students create tool for NASA missions," 29 July 2019 Incisive passing, an innate knowledge of spatial awareness and his proficiency in keeping possession of the ball in tight spaces are staples to the Japanese player's game and hence, makes him one of the best prospects in world football. — SI.com, "Takefusa Kubo: Why Real Madrid's Exciting Starlet Is the Biggest Bargain of the Summer," 29 July 2019 According to the researchers, these items (or pictures of them) tend to have relatively high-contrast energy at midrange spatial frequency. — Natasha Lavender, SELF, "Is Trypophobia Really a Fear of Holes or Something Else Entirely?," 26 July 2019 So the spatial part of the memory might be in the hippocampus, but the part that remembers who was there might be in some other part. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "Is GPS really ruining our brains?," 24 July 2019 The Mayfield Branch, designed by URS (now AECOM) with HBM, produces an even greater sense of spatial drama. — Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "New Cuyahoga County libraries are spirited variations on themes of service, light, sense of place – Steven Litt," 21 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spatial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for spatial
spatial
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of spatial
technical
: of or relating to space and the relationship of objects within it
See the full definition for spatial in the English Language Learners Dictionary
spatial
adjective
spa·tial
| \ ˈspā-shəl
\
\
Kids Definition of spatial
: of or relating to space
spatial
adjective
spa·tial
| \ ˈspā-shəl
\
\
Medical Definition of spatial
1
: relating to, occupying, or having the character of space
affected with spatial disorientation
2
: of or relating to facility in perceiving relations (as of objects) in space
tests of spatial ability
Other Words from spatial
spatially
\ ˈspāsh-(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
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