altitude
/ˈælt.ɪˌtjuːd/
altitude noun: the absolute height of a location, usually measured from sea level.
Noun
altitude (countable and uncountable, plural altitudes)
- The absolute height of a location, usually measured from sea level.
- As the altitude increases, the temperature gets lower, so remember to bring warm clothes to the mountains.
- Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle...2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
- A vertical distance.
- The line perpendicularly connecting a figure’s vertex, especially a triangle’s apex, to the side opposite to the vertex.
- All three altitudes of any triangle will always meet at point known as the orthocentre or orthocenter.
- The length of such a line; the distance measured perpendicularly from a figure's vertex to the side opposite to the vertex.
- The perpendicular height of a triangle is known as its altitude.
- The angular distance of a heavenly body above our Earth's horizon.
- Height of rank or excellence; superiority.
- Whoever has an ambition to be heard in a crowd, must press, and squeeze, and thrust, and climb, with indefatigable pains, till he has exalted himself to a certain degree of altitude above them.1704, [Jonathan Swift], A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC
- Elevation of spirits; heroics; haughty airs.
- The man of law began to get into his altitudes.1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown...
- Is this deified passion , in its greatest altitudes , fitted to stand the day ?1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC
- Highest point or degree.
- He is [proud] even to the altitude of his virtue.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Krull dimension.
- Height.
altitude meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
altitude in Hindi
- altitude
- ऊँचाई ū̃cāī
altitude in Tamil
- குத்துயரம், உயரம், செவ்வுயரம், கோணவேற்றம், ஏற்றக்கோணம், உச்சம்
altitude in Urdu
- altitude, height
- ارتفاع irtefā
altitude in Bengali
- উচ্চতা, ঊর্ধ্বতা
More languagesFewer languages
- altitude in Malayalam
- ഉയരം, ഉന്നതി, സമുദ്രനിരപ്പിൽനിന്നുളള ഉയരം, ഉയർന്ന സ്ഥാനം
- altitude in Kannada
- ಎತ್ತರ
- altitude in Tagalog
- tayog, layog
- altitude in Arabic
- اِرْتِفَاع irtifāʕ
- altitude in Persian
- فرازا farâzâ, بلندا bolandâ
Examples of altitude in a sentence
- At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often.
- The air at high altitudes at the top of mountains is rarefied.
- It's hard to tell which physical forces are in play at this altitude.
Forms of altitude
| plural | altitudes |
|---|
Origin of altitude
From Middle English, borrowed from Latin altitūdō (“height”), from altus (“high”).
Words formed from altitude
- absolute altitude
- altazimuth
- altimetry
- altitude-sick
- altitude sickness
- altitudinal
- altitudinarian
- altitudinous
- at altitude
- bialtitude
- coaltitude
- critical altitude
- high-altitude
- low-altitude
- maltitude
- medium-altitude
- midaltitude
- minimum descent altitude
- minimum sector altitude
- paleoaltitude
- pressure altitude
- transition altitude
Phrases with altitude
Questions about altitude
- What does altitude mean?
- Altitude means the absolute height of a location, usually measured from sea level.
- What is altitude in Hindi?
- Altitude in Hindi is ऊँचाई (ū̃cāī). See Altitude meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is altitude?
- Altitude is a noun.
- How do you pronounce altitude?
- Altitude is pronounced /ˈælt.ɪˌtjuːd/.
- What is the plural of altitude?
- The plural of altitude is altitudes.
Words near altitude in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: altitude (page history and authors); ऊँचाई (Hindi) (page history and authors); altitude (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ارتفاع (Urdu) (page history and authors); altitude (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); altitude (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); altitude (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-altitude.wav.
Cite this entry: “altitude.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/altitude. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.