altitude
noun
Examples of altitude in a Sentence
Ned Kleiner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
On the moon, a smaller body where the gravitational pull is much weaker, time moves more quickly and unevenly: Lunar time gains about 58.7 microseconds per day compared to Earth’s time, though even this can vary, depending on the altitude and longitude where lunar clocks may be located.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Kevin Hart plays a master thief undertaking a daring heist to steal $500 million in gold from a plane, while simultaneously navigating a complex plot involving terrorists and betrayal at high altitudes.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
It’s powered by a 1.6L BMW gasoline engine and can achieve an altitude of 8,000 feet.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
As the plane gained altitude, Ringo jumped on Miranda’s chest.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2024
This year, an aircraft will cover the remaining meters in altitude to assess any response in the clouds beyond the 500-meter mark.
—Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
The cloud deck was about 20,000 to 25,000 feet high, according to airport observations, an ideal altitude for strong colors.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
The latest iteration includes extras like a digital pressurization system for lower cabin altitude, Onboard Maintenance System (OMS) updates, full autothrottle, and interior enhancements.
—Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'altitude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English, "height, angular height of a celestial body above the horizon," borrowed from Latin altitūdin-, altitūdō "height, high position, downward extension, depth," from altus "extending upward, tall, high, extending downward, deep" + -i- -i- + -tūdin-, -tūdō -tude; altus going back to dialectal Indo-European *al-to- (whence also Middle Irish alt, allt "height, cliff," Welsh allt "hill, steep slope, cliff"), of uncertain origin
Note: Traditionally equated with Germanic *alđa- "old," and further to a verbal base *al- "nourish" (< Indo-European *h2el- "nourish, feed;" see old entry 1), on the assumption that the verbal adjective *al-to- "fully grown, nourished" leads to both "old" and "high." However, both the Latin and Celtic etyma refer primarily or exclusively to points situated above the ground, not human or animal growth, so such a connection is questionable.
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Phrases Containing altitude
Dictionary Entries Near altitude
Cite this Entry
“Altitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altitude. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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altitude
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on altitude
Nglish: Translation of altitude for Spanish Speakers
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about altitude
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