degree
/dɪˈɡriː
/noun
1The amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present: a degree of caution is probably wise [mass noun]: a question of degree...
- Instead it demands a considerable degree of autonomy and nurtures individualism.
- More alarmingly, the degree and extent of the complicity involved is shredding the credibility of the Hierarchy.
- Nevertheless, there seems to be a considerable degree of uncertainty in the present legal proceedings.
Synonyms
level, stage, point, rung, standard, grade, gradation, mark;
amount, extent, measure, magnitude, intensity, strength;
proportion, ratio
2A unit of measurement of angles, one ninetieth of a right angle or the angle subtended by one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle: set at an angle of 45 degrees (Symbol: °) Those men also divided the complete circle into 360 degrees by taking the angle of the triangle as their fundamental unit and dividing this into 60 sub-units....
- Not being a whiz at geometry, I stared at the pattern for quite a while trying to figure out the formula for measuring the degrees of the angles.
- The computer showed my ball speed was 150 miles per hour, my launch angle 14 degrees and my spin rate 4,400 revolutions per minute.
3A unit in any of various scales of temperature, intensity, or hardness: water boils at 100 degrees Celsius (Symbol: °) This is the proportion by which the rate of a chemical reaction is raised by an increase in temperature of 10 degrees on the Celsius scale....
- However, we borrow the basic measurement scale from physics and we measure the photographic colour temperature in degrees Kelvin.
- The memory signal could not be detected at temperatures above 75 degrees Celsius, where the charges within the domains behave differently.
4A stage in a scale or series, in particular:
4.1 [in combination] Each of a set of grades (usually three) used to classify burns according to their severity. See first-degree, second-degree, third-degree.
4.2 [often in combination] A legal grade of crime or offence, especially murder: second-degree murder criminal conduct in the first degree...
- English criminal law has two degrees of homicide: murder and manslaughter.
- There has been no cross examination of the Claimant with a view to establishing what degree of contributory negligence should be attributed to him.
- He was actually convicted of 2nd degree murder, reduced on appeal to manslaughter.
4.3 [often in combination] A step in direct genealogical descent: second-degree relatives...
- Everyone on the same level is the same degree of cousin and is in the same generation.
- Who are relatives within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity?
- Blood relationship in the direct line (i.e., between father and daughter, grandfather and granddaughter, etc.) invalidates marriage regardless of the degree of relationship.
4.4 Music A position in a musical scale, counting upwards from the tonic or fundamental note: the lowered third degree of the scale...
- I achieved this not by starting the inverted form on the subdominant degree, but by modifying its tail at measure 47.
- The reason that this chord is the best is because it contains the leading note (7th degree).
- A minor, therefore, is related to a major key with its tonic on C, the mediant or third degree of the scale of A minor.
4.5 Mathematics The class into which an equation falls according to the highest power of unknowns or variables present: an equation of the second degree...
- In particular he worked on Galois theory, ideals and equations of the fifth degree.
- The degree of the final equation resulting from any number of complete equations in the same number of unknowns, is equal to the product of the degrees of the equations.
- The first person to claim that equations of degree 5 could not be solved algebraically was Ruffini.
4.6 Grammar Any of the three steps on the scale of comparison of gradable adjectives and adverbs, namely positive, comparative, and superlative.The comparative and superlative degrees in adjectives are shown in two ways....
- Here the superlative degree makes sense because we are comparing this year's crop to the crops from all earlier years
- Special attention is given to three generalizations regarding root suppletion in the comparative degree of adjectives (good-better, bad-worse).
4.7A rank in an order of freemasonry.The Masonic medal shown in Plate XIII is what is known in the order as a Mark medal for a Freemason with degrees of the Mark Lodge and Royal Arch Masonry....
- There are 33 degrees of initiation in freemasonry, the 33rd degree being the highest.
4.8 archaic A thing placed like a step in a series; a tier or row.
5An academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person: a degree in zoology...
- He later earned his master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University.
- There are several routes a student can take in order to earn a degree in architecture.
- I moved home with my parents after finishing my degree in order to work and save for graduate school.
6 [mass noun] archaic Social or official rank: persons of unequal degree...
- People who confirm certain degree of public status often do public talk.
- He was a lifelong member of St. Peter's Parish and a member of the Knights of Columbus as a third degree knight and fourth degree honorary knight.
- Spanish and English courtiers were carefully intermingled in order of their degrees on the steps of the throne.
Synonyms
social class, social status, rank, standing/position in society
dated station
archaic estate, condition
Phrases
by degrees
to a degree
Derivatives
degreeless
Origin
Middle English (in the senses 'step', 'tier', 'rank', or 'relative state'): from Old French, based on Latin de- 'down' + gradus 'step or grade'.
The source of degree is a French word based on Latin de- ‘down’ and gradus ‘step’ source of grade. Early senses of the word include ‘step, tier’, ‘rank’ and ‘relative state’. The use of degree for an academic qualification came from the medieval Mastership or Doctorate, which was attained in stages or degrees. The ‘step’ sense is found in the geometrical use (Late Middle English), measurement of heat (early 18th century), and in the expression by degrees or step by step.