noun

trajectory

truh-JEK-tuh-ree/trəˈdʒektəri/

A course traced by movement.

The basketball follows a curved trajectory toward the hoop.

A basketball traveling toward a hoop, with a restrained dashed parabolic trace showing its flight path from the lower left, over the apex, and down to the clearly drawn ball near the basket.

Etymology

traLatinacross

+jectLatinthrow

+oryLatinpertaining to

The pieces evoke “throwing across”: a trajectory is the path a moving body describes under the forces acting on it. That physical path became a figurative course followed by a developing process.

In context

The Organic Chemistry Tutor39:16

the path that the ball travels is known as the trajectory

Physics - Basic Introduction

More examples

Engineers calculate the rocket's trajectory before launch.
The scholarship changes the trajectory of her career.
Sales continue on an upward trajectory this year.

Forms

trajectory · trajectories

Similar words

path: A general route, without necessarily emphasizing motion or development.
course: Emphasizes direction or progress rather than an exact physical path.
arc: Specifically a curved path; a trajectory need not be curved.