degree of freedom
Americannoun
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Statistics. any of the statistically independent values of a sample that are used to determine a property of the sample, as the mean or variance.
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Physical Chemistry. any of the independent variables required to specify the energy of a molecule or atom.
noun
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physics one of the minimum number of parameters necessary to describe a state or property of a system
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one of the independent components of motion (translation, vibration, and rotation) of an atom or molecule
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chem one of a number of intensive properties that can be independently varied without changing the number of phases in a system See also phase rule
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statistics one of the independent unrestricted random variables constituting a statistic
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Any of the independent thermodynamic variables, such as pressure, temperature, or composition, required to specify a system with a given number of phases and components.
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Any of the independent terms used to characterize the way a physical system can store energy. For example, a molecule consisting of two atoms can be thought of as having three degrees of freedom: one for its linear motion (as the whole molecule moves through space), one for its angular motion (as it rotates around its center of gravity) and one for its internal vibrational energy (as the atoms pull and push against each other within their chemical bond).
Etymology
Origin of degree of freedom
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The distance reach with structured light, both classical and quantum, remains very low … but this is also an opportunity, stimulating the search for more abstract degrees of freedom to exploit."
From Science Daily
The city's press still retains a much larger degree of freedom compared to their counterparts in mainland China.
From Barron's
The LDP’s election victory “allows the ruling party to pass bills without relying on the Upper House, giving it a very significant degree of freedom,” the rates strategist says.
By treating the two spin states as genuinely separate degrees of freedom, the approach enables compact optical systems with multiple functions built into a single device.
From Science Daily
They also move through the material and occupy different orbitals, introducing charge motion and additional degrees of freedom.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
