diameter
noun
di·am·e·ter
| \ dī-ˈa-mə-tər
\
\
Definition of diameter
2
mathematics
: the length of a straight line through the center of an object or space
the diameter of a circle dug a hole nearly four feet in diameter
3
physics
: a unit of enlargement used with a number to indicate magnification by a lens or optical system
an object one millimeter wide magnified 40 diameters appears 40 millimeters wide
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Other Words from diameter
diametral
\ dī-ˈa-mə-trəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of diameter in a Sentence
The dotted line indicates the diameter of the circle.
What is the diameter of the tree trunk?
Dig a hole that's two feet deep and three feet in diameter.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Even a 1-inch diameter disparity in a cake pan can make a difference. — Becky Krystal, Twin Cities, "How to swap baking pan sizes without ruining your recipe," 7 July 2019 Ten thousand digits was within the storage capacity of even the earliest PCs, circa 1975, and modern machines have calculated pi—the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter—to trillions of digits. — James Taranto, WSJ, "How to Store Data Along Memory Lane," 18 Jan. 2019 Place 3 to 5 bulbs per 6-inch diameter hole (lilies planted in groups look more striking than a single bulb planted here and there in the garden bed). — Arricca Sansone, Country Living, "How to Grow Lily Flowers," 1 Aug. 2018 Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m diameter nylon tube (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle. — Radhika Viswanathan, Vox, "Elon Musk: let’s build an “air tunnel underwater” to save the Thai boys in the cave," 6 July 2018 The 24-inch diameter brick sewer line collapsed about 15 feet below street level. — Holly V. Hays, Indianapolis Star, "Citizens Energy: Sinkhole repairs could close Downtown intersection through July 13," 6 July 2018 Last week, her team posted its own preprint on arXiv that describes an independent method of checking the diameter errors on NEOWISE asteroids. — Alexandra Witze, Scientific American, "Asteroid Battle: Tech Entrepreneur Doubles Down on Critique of NASA Mission," 18 June 2018 To sharpen these curved cutting edges use a matching-diameter round file. — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How To Sharpen Your Chainsaw Like a Pro," 24 July 2019 Yet compared to the ring system's overall diameter of 175,000 miles, the rings are incredibly slim. — Dan Falk, NBC News, "Facts about Saturn's rings, moons and more," 22 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diameter.' 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 diameter
diameter
noun
English Language Learners Definition of diameter
: a straight line from one side of something (such as a circle) to the other side that passes through the center point
: the distance through the center of something from one side to the other
See the full definition for diameter in the English Language Learners Dictionary
diameter
noun
di·am·e·ter
| \ dī-ˈa-mə-tər
\
\
Kids Definition of diameter
1
: a straight line that runs from one side of a figure and passes through the center
Measure the diameter of the circle.
2
: the distance through the center of an object from one side to the other : thickness
the diameter of a tree trunk
diameter
noun
di·am·e·ter
| \ dī-ˈam-ət-ər
\
\
Medical Definition of diameter
1
: a unit of magnification for an optical instrument equal to the number of times the linear dimensions of an object are apparently increased
a microscope magnifying 60 diameters
2
: one of the maximal breadths of a part of the body
the transverse diameter of the inlet of the pelvis
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