great circle
Americannoun
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a circle on a spherical surface such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere.
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a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth.
noun
Etymology
Origin of great circle
First recorded in 1585–95
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.
Like dominoes, one by one, the great circle of lampposts fell.
From Literature
Their shiny bodies slashed through the waves, creating a great circle of sea-foam that tightened around the station until the fish slammed against the base.
From Literature
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.
From BBC
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.
From Seattle Times
“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.
From Science Magazine
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.
