e·las·tic·i·ty
Audio Help [i-la-stis-i-tee, ee-la-stis-] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [i-la-stis-i-tee, ee-la-stis-] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | the state or quality of being elastic. |
| 2. | flexibility; resilience; adaptability: a statement with a great elasticity of meaning. |
| 3. | buoyancy; ability to resist or overcome depression. |
| 4. | Physics. the property of a substance that enables it to change its length, volume, or shape in direct response to a force effecting such a change and to recover its original form upon the removal of the force. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
elasticity
To learn more about elasticity visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| e·las·tic·i·ty
Audio Help (ĭ-lā-stĭs'ĭ-tē, ē'lā-) Pronunciation Key
n.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| elasticity | |
noun | |
| the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed; "the waistband had lost its snap" [ant: inelasticity] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
| elasticity
Audio Help (ĭ-lā-stĭs'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
The ability of a solid to return to its original shape or form after being subject to strain. Most solid materials display elasticity, up to a load point called the elastic limit; loads higher than this limit cause permanent deformation of the material. See also Hooke's law. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
elasticity
A shift in either demand or supply of a good or service depending on its price. Demand is said to be elastic when it responds quickly to changes in prices, and inelastic when it responds sluggishly.
[Chapter:] Business and Economics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
elasticity
The property of a material that allows it to return to its original shape after having been deformed and to exert a force while deformed. (See stress.)
[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Elasticity
E`las*tic"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. ['e]lasticit['e].]1. The quality of being elastic; the inherent property in bodies by which they recover their former figure or dimensions, after the removal of external pressure or altering force; springiness; tendency to rebound; as, the elasticity of caoutchouc; the elasticity of the air. 2. Power of resistance to, or recovery from, depression or overwork. Coefficient of elasticity, the quotient of a stress (of a given kind), by the strain (of a given kind) which it produces; -- called also coefficient of resistance. Surface of elasticity (Geom.), the pedal surface of an ellipsoid (see Pedal); a surface used in explaining the phenomena of double refraction and their relation to the elastic force of the luminous ether in crystalline media.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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