gradients

Noun

gradient (plural gradients)

1. A slope or incline.

   Synonyms:

   hill, incline, ramp, slope, grade

2. A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.
   • Just beyond that station the first step is encountered and the rack resorted to, taking the line on a gradient of 1 in 9 over a steeply inclined bridge and through a spiral tunnel.1950 November, H. P. White, “The Furka-Oberalp Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 767
3. The ratio of the rates of change of a dependent variable and an independent variable, the slope of a curve's tangent.

   Synonyms:

   slope, angular coefficient

4. The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
5. A differential operator that maps each point of a scalar field to a vector pointed in the direction of the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: ∇φ
6. A gradual change in color; a color gradient; gradation.

See all 10 meanings of gradient