You use degree to indicate the extent to which something happens or is the case, or the amount which something is felt.
These man-made barriers will ensure a very high degree of protection. [+ of]
Politicians have used television with varying degrees of success. [+ of]
See a degree of
2. uncountable noun [of/inN]
You use degree in expressions such as a matter of degree and different in degree to indicate that you are talking about the comparative quantity, scale, or extent of something, rather than otherfactors.
The first change is a matter of degree, the second is a fundamental shift.
The jobs are different in degree of difficulty.
3. countable noun
A degree is a unit of measurement that is used to measure temperatures. It is often writtenas °, for example 23°.
It's over 80 degrees outside.
Pure water sometimes does not freeze until it reaches minus 40 degrees Celsius.
4. countable noun
A degree is a unit of measurement that is used to measure angles, and also longitude and latitude. It is often written as °, for example 23°.
It was pointing outward at an angle of 45 degrees.
...McMurdo Station in Antarctica, which is at 78 degrees South.
5. countable noun
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
He took a master's degree in economics at Yale.
...an engineering degree.
...the first year of a degree course.
6. See also first-degree, second-degree, third-degree
7.
See by degrees
8.
See to some/a certain degree (etc)
9.
See to what/that degree/the degree that(etc)
10. to the nth degree
More Synonyms of degree
degree in British English
(dɪˈɡriː)
noun
1.
a stage in a scale of relative amount or intensity
a high degree of competence
2.
an academic award conferred by a university or college on successful completion of a course or as an honorary distinction (honorary degree)
3.
any of three categories of seriousness of a burn
burn1 (sense 23)
4.
(in the US) any of the categories into which a crime is divided according to its seriousness
first-degree murder
5. genealogy
a step in a line of descent, used as a measure of the closeness of a blood relationship
6. grammar
any of the forms of an adjective used to indicate relative amount or intensity: in English they are positive, comparative, and superlative
7. music
any note of a diatonic scale relative to the other notes in that scale
D is the second degree of the scale of C major
8.
a unit of temperature on a specified scale
the normal human body temperature is 36.8 degrees Celsius
Symbol: °. See also Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale
9.
a measure of angle equal to one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the angle traced by one complete revolution of a line about one of its ends
Symbol: °. See also minute1, second2 (sense 1a), Compare radian
10.
a.
a unit of latitude or longitude, divided into 60 minutes, used to define points on the earth's surface or on the celestial sphere
b.
a point or line defined by units of latitude and/or longitude
Symbol: °
11.
a unit on any of several scales of measurement, as for alcohol content or specific gravity
Symbol: °
12. mathematics
a.
the highest power or the sum of the powers of any term in a polynomial or by itself
x4 + x + 3 and xyz2 are of the fourth degree
b.
the greatest power of the highest order derivative in a differential equation
13. obsolete
a step; rung
14. archaic
a stage in social status or rank
15. by degrees
16. to a degree
17. degrees of frost
Derived forms
degreeless (deˈgreeless)
adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French degre, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade
degree in American English
(dɪˈgri)
noun
1.
any of the successive steps or stages in a process or series
2.
a step in the direct line of descent
a cousin in the second degree
3.
social or official rank, position, or class
a man of low degree
4.
relative condition; manner, respect, or relation
each contributing to victory in his degree
5.
extent, amount, or relative intensity
hungry to a slight degree, burns of the third degree
6. Algebra
rank as determined by the sum of a term's exponents
the terms a3c2 and x5 are of the fifth degree
7. Education
a rank given by a college or university to a student who has completed a required course of study, or to a distinguished person as an honor
8. Grammar
a grade of comparison of adjectives and adverbs
the positive degree is “good,” the comparative degree is “better,” and the superlative degree is “best”
9. US, Law
the seriousness of a crime
murder in the first degree
10. Ancient Mathematics and Astronomy and Geography Etc
a unit of measure for angles or arcs, one 360th part of the circumference of a circle: the measure of an angle is the number of degrees between its sides considered asradii of a circle
symbol, °
a right angle has 90 degrees
11. Music
the relative position of a note within a given scale
B is the second degree in the scale of A
12. Physics
a.
a unit of measure on a scale, as for temperature
b.
a line marking a degree, as on a thermometer
Idioms:
by degrees
to a degree
Word origin
ME degre < OFr degré, degree, step, rank < VL *degradus < degradare: see degrade
More idioms containing
degree
give someone the third degree
COBUILD Collocations
degree
college degree
degrees Celsius
degrees centigrade
degrees Fahrenheit
foundation degree
honorary degree
postgraduate degree
to a lesser degree
undergraduate degree
varying degrees
Examples of 'degree' in a sentence
degree
We have agreed some increases in various areas to differing degrees.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
There should be a high degree of correlation.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The majority of entrants to degree courses are female.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Turning the thermostat down by just one degree can save you around 80 a year.
The Sun (2016)
I have also acquired a degree of detachment over time.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A degree apprentice may also have to pay back course fees if they drop out.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Over the same period, the big four have narrowed the price gap with the discounters in varying degrees.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
New police officers will need to have university degrees for the first time under one of the most radical overhauls of the service in generations.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We are different in degree, goes the new consensus, not in kind.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
To different degrees, but across the board, competition in providing the best healthcare is encouraged.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We all have the ability to be bad to different degrees.
The Sun (2014)
Her painted cheeks swivelled through an angle of ninety degrees.
Eric Newby A BOOK OF LANDS AND PEOPLES (2003)
This is a decent enough income for a share that also offers a degree of capital growth.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Of course she is taking a science degree rather than arts and perhaps this is the difference.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He received dozens of honorary degrees and awards.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Turning dreams into reality is something all entrepreneurs attempt to do with varying degrees of success.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The revolutionary takeover of lands and industry occurred to differing degrees according to the area in question.
Paul Preston The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge
Switch off lights when you leave a room and turn the thermostat down by one degree.
The Sun (2014)
This allows it to claim a high degree of objective verification.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
You can apply for many financial awards during the course of your degree.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The works often retain an astonishing degree of emotional intensity and chilling weirdness.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Those without a college degree make less than those with a college degree.
Christianity Today (2000)
They must also cope with bowlers who are allowed a degree of latitude in straightening their arms.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
These portfolios offer different degrees of risk.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
All of their angles are whole numbers of degrees and no angle exceeds ninety degrees.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The relationship between exercise and health has long been known to vary with degree.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Social arrangements differed more in degree than in kind from those in other colonies.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
So the difference here is one of degree and not of kind.
Bee, Helen The Developing Child (7th edn.) (1995)
These groups require a high degree of readiness and motivation.
Herman, Judith Lewis Trauma and Recovery (1992)
Who will benefit from shorter degree courses?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Students typically have a first degree in the physical sciences, engineering or mathematics.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
If this difference is a matter of degree rather than kind, where do our ethical judgements lie?
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
In other languages
degree
British English: degree /dɪˈɡriː/ NOUN
You use degree to indicate the extent to which something happens or is the case.
These barriers ensure a very high degree of protection.
American English: degree
Arabic: دَرَجَة
Brazilian Portuguese: grau
Chinese: 程度
Croatian: stupanj
Czech: míra
Danish: grad
Dutch: graad
European Spanish: grado nivel
Finnish: aste
French: licence
German: Grad
Greek: βαθμός
Italian: grado
Japanese: 程度
Korean: 정도
Norwegian: grad
Polish: stopień ranga
European Portuguese: grau
Romanian: nivel
Russian: степень
Latin American Spanish: grado
Swedish: grad temperatur
Thai: องศา
Turkish: derece sıcaklık
Ukrainian: ступінь
Vietnamese: mức độ
All related terms of 'degree'
arts degree
a degree in an arts subject
degree day
a day on which university degrees are conferred
degree mill
an academic institution with low standards that awards many degrees
pass degree
an ordinary degree without honours
degree course
an education course that awards degrees to those who complete it successfully
first degree
People who have gained a higher qualification after completing a basic university degree such as a BA or a BSc refer to that basic degree as their first degree .
higher degree
a degree taken after your first undergraduate degree
honors degree
a degree at honours level
second-degree
In the United States , second-degree is used to describe crimes that are considered to be less serious than first-degree crimes.
third degree
Third-degree burns are very severe , destroying tissue under the skin.
a degree of
If something has a degree of a particular quality , it has a small but significant amount of that quality.
advanced degree
an academic degree conferred for completion of requirements beyond the undergraduate college level, as M.S. or Ph .D.
college degree
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
degree ceremony
a ceremony at which university degrees are awarded
doctor's degree
the highest academic degree in any field of knowledge
external degree
a degree gained by a student who studies extramurally
general degree
a degree awarded at some universities, studied at a lower academic standard than an honours degree
honorary degree
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
honours degree
a degree at honours level
master's degree
A master's degree is a university degree such as an MA or an MSc which is of a higher level than a first degree and usually takes one or two years to complete.
ordinary degree
a university degree without honours
to a degree
somewhat ; rather
associate degree
An associate degree is a college degree that is awarded to a student who has completed a two-year course of study.
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is a first degree awarded by universities .
foundation degree
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
university degree
an award conferred by a college or university signifying that the recipient has satisfactorily completed a course of study
degree of freedom
one of the minimum number of parameters necessary to describe a state or property of a system
first-degree burn
to undergo or cause to undergo combustion
postgraduate degree
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
second-degree burn
to undergo or cause to undergo combustion
third-degree burn
to undergo or cause to undergo combustion
unclassified degree
a degree that has not been given a grade because it is of a low standard
undergraduate degree
A degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course.
degree of difficulty
a rating which reflects the difficulty of the manoeuvre or action an athlete is attempting to perform in sports such as gymnastics and diving , and which is factored into the final score
first degree murder
the most serious category of murder
to a lesser degree
You use degree to indicate the extent to which something happens or is the case, or the amount which something is felt .
to the nth degree
If something is done to the nth degree , it is done to an extreme degree.
Bachelor of Arts degree
a degree conferred on a person who has successfully completed his or her undergraduate studies, usually in a branch of the liberal arts or humanities
Bachelor of Science degree
a degree conferred on a person who has successfully completed his or her undergraduate studies in a branch of the sciences
first-class honours degree
an honours degree of the highest class
give someone the third degree
to ask someone a lot of questions in an aggressive way in order to find out information
second-class honours degree
an honours degree of the second class , usually further divided into an upper and lower designation
third class honours degree
coming after the second and preceding the fourth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of three: often written 3rd
Bachelor of Arts (or Science, etc.)
a degree given by a college or university to a person who has completed a four-year course or its equivalent in the humanities or related studies (or in science , etc.)
doctorate
A doctorate is the highest degree awarded by a university.
Master of Arts (or Science, etc.)
a degree given by a college or university to a person who has completed a prescribed course of graduate study in the humanities or related studies (or in science , etc.): it ranks above the degree of Bachelor and below that of Doctor
to some/a certain degree (etc)
You use expressions such as to some degree , to a large degree , or to a certain degree in order to indicate that something is partly true , but not entirely true.
to what/that degree/the degree that(etc)
You use expressions such as to what degree and to the degree that when you are discussing how true a statement is, or in what ways it is true.