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| de·gree [ di gr ] (plural de·grees) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. extent or amount: the relative extent, amount, intensity, or level of something, especially when compared with other things
  showed a high degree of awareness of the issues
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2. educational title: a title awarded by a university or college following successful completion of a course of study or period of research, or a similar title granted as an honor
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3. unit of temperature measurement: a unit of measurement for temperature on a scale such as Celsius or Fahrenheit
Symbol °
degrees Celsius
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4. unit for measuring angles: a unit of measurement for planar angles, equal to a 360th of a full revolution.
Symbol °
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5. unit of latitude or longitude: a unit of latitude or longitude, equal to 1/360 of a circle, used to locate and designate places on the Earth
Symbol °
27 degrees north
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6. criminal law classification of murder: a level of classification of murder according to its seriousness, first-degree murder being the most serious
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7. medicine severity of burns on body: a level of classification of the seriousness of the damage to tissue caused by a burn, third-degree burns being the most serious
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8. measurements unit of measurement on scale: a unit on any of various measurement scales, e.g. that used to measure specific gravity or that used to specify the alcohol content of drinks.
Symbol °
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9. grammar state of adjective or adverb: a state of an adjective or adverb, either the positive, the comparative, or the superlative
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10. social sciences closeness of relationship: an indication of the genealogical closeness of a relationship within a family
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11. social sciences status: rank, position, or status in society
(
formal or literary
)
of high degree
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12. music position of note on musical scale: the relative position of a note on a musical scale
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13. mathematics highest exponent of derivative: in a differential equation, the exponent of the derivative of highest order, e.g. 4x2y2 is of degree four
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14. mathematics sum of polynomial variable exponents: in a polynomial equation, the sum of the exponents of the variables in the term with the highest power, e.g. 4x3y2 + 3y2+ 2 is of degree five
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| [13th century. Via French degré< assumed Vulgar Latin degradus, literally "step down" < Latin gradus "step, stage"] |
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by degrees gradually
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