GREAT CIRCLE Definition & Meaning

great circle

noun

a circle on a spherical surface such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere. Compare small circle.
a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth.

great circle

noun

a circular section of a sphere that has a radius equal to that of the sphere Compare small circle

great circle

A circle on the surface of a sphere whose plane passes through the center of the sphere. The Earth's equator is a great circle on the sphere of the globe.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of great circle¹

First recorded in 1585–95

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Since the earth is a sphere, the shortest path between two points is expressed by the great circle distance, which corresponds to an arc linking two points on a sphere.

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He credits his routine of helping keep him up along with a great circle of support, having heard from hundreds of people since his mother died.

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“The great circle in the sky,” as Brandt calls it, may be a region just beyond the heliopause where ions snared in a magnetic field spawn ENAs.

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These sites were planned on the image of a great circle — or series of circles — of houses, with nobody first, nobody last, divided into districts with assembly buildings for public meetings.

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A cold wind had risen, swirling the leaves in great circles above their heads.

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