Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

dead reckoning

 - 4 dictionary results

dead reckoning

 
Use dead reckoning in a Sentence
–noun Navigation.
1. calculation of one's position on the basis of distance run on various headings since the last precisely observed position, with as accurate allowance as possible being made for wind, currents, compass errors, etc.
2. one's position as so calculated.
Origin:
1605–15

dead-reck⋅on

  [ded-rek-uhn]
–verb (used with object) Navigation.
to calculate (one's position) by means of dead reckoning.
Origin:
by back formation

Related forms:
dead-reck⋅on⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dead reckoning
dead reckoning  
n.  

  1. A method of estimating the position of an aircraft or a ship without astronomical observations, as by applying to a previously determined position the course and distance traveled since.

  2. Predictive calculation based on inference; guesswork.


[Possibly alteration of ded., abbr. of deduced, from deduce, to trace from the beginning; see deduce.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

dead reckoning

determination without the aid of celestial navigation of the position of a ship or aircraft from the record of the courses sailed or flown, the distance made (which can be estimated from velocity), the known starting point, and the known or estimated drift

Learn more about dead reckoning with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see dead reckoning on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way