elasticity - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: elasticity

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

e·las·tic·i·ty

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.

[Origin: 1655–65; elastic + -ity

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
elasticity

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

e·las·tic·i·ty Audio Help (ĭ-lā-stĭs'ĭ-tē, ē'lā-) Pronunciation Key
n.

The condition or property of being elastic; flexibility.
Physics
1. The property of returning to an initial form or state following deformation.
2. The degree to which this property is exhibited.

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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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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]

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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