quadrature

[ kwod-ruh-cher, -choor ]

noun
  1. the act of squaring.

  2. Mathematics.

    • the act or process of finding a square equal in area to a given surface, especially a surface bounded by a curve.

    • the act or process of finding an area or calculating an integral, especially by numerical methods.

    • a definite integral.

  1. Astronomy.

    • the situation of two heavenly bodies when their longitudes differ by 90°.

    • either of the two points in the orbit of a body, as the moon, midway between the syzygies.

    • (of the moon) those points or moments at which a half moon is visible.

  2. Electronics. the relation between two signals having the same frequency that differ in phase by 90°.

Origin of quadrature

1
1545–55; <Latin quadrātūra, equivalent to quadrāt(us) (past participle of quadrāre;see quadrate) + -ūra-ure

Words Nearby quadrature

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use quadrature in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quadrature

quadrature

/ (ˈkwɒdrətʃə) /


noun
  1. maths the process of determining a square having an area equal to that of a given figure or surface

  2. the process of making square or dividing into squares

  1. astronomy a configuration in which two celestial bodies, usually the sun and the moon or a planet, form an angle of 90° with a third body, usually the earth

  2. electronics the relationship between two waves that are 90° out of phase

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for quadrature

quadrature

[ kwŏdrə-chur′ ]


  1. The process of constructing a square equal in area to a given surface.

  2. A configuration in which the position of one celestial body is 90° from another celestial body, as measured from a third. For example, the half moon lies in quadrature from the Sun when Earth is the reference point. See more at elongation.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.