noun / verb

dimension

dye-MEN-shun/daɪˈmenʃn/

An independent direction along which extent is measured.

The arrows show the box's three dimensions: length, width, and height.

Simple wooden box with three clean measurement arrows marking length width height, no numerical text.

Etymology

diLatinapart, out

+mensLatinto measure

+ionLatinaction or process

The pieces express the action of measuring out. From a measurable extent, such as length or breadth, dimension broadened to mean an aspect or component of a situation.

In context

nptelhrd31:21

what is the change in the linear dimension along x, disregarding what happens along y and z. So, let us keep that target, let us say that delta x is the length of the fluid element

Mod-01 Lec-12 Fluid Kinematics (Contd.)

More examples

A flat surface has two dimensions: length and width.
Check the sofa's dimensions before carrying it through the doorway.
The engineer dimensions the drawing to specify each part's size.

Forms

dimension · dimensions · dimensioned · dimensioning

dimensional adjective — Relating to measurable directions or extents.

Similar words

axis: A reference line defining a direction, rather than measurable extent.
measurement: Emphasizes the measured value rather than the independent direction.