• enPR: dĭgrē', IPA: /dɪˈɡɹiː/

degree (plural degrees)

  1. (obsolete, outside, heraldry) A step on a set of stairs; the rung of a ladder. [from 13th c.]
  2. An individual step, or stage, in any process or scale of values. [from 13th c.]
  3. A stage of rank or privilege; social standing. [from 13th c.]
    • [1526], [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamēt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], OCLC 762018299 ↗; republished as The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: Published in 1526. […], London: Samuel Bagster, […], 1836, OCLC 679500256 ↗, Luke XX:[21], page [237] ↗:
      And they axed him sayinge: Master, we knowe that thou sayest, and teachest ryght, nether considerest thou eny mannes degre, but teachest the waye of god truely.
  4. (genealogy) A ‘step’ in genealogical descent. [from 14th c.]
    • 2002, Colin Jones (historian), The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 140:
      Louis created the École militaire in Paris in 1751, in which 500 scholarships were designated for noblemen able to prove four degrees of noble status.
  5. (now rare) One's relative state or experience; way, manner. [from 14th c.]
  6. The amount that an entity possesses a certain property; relative intensity, extent. [from 14th c.]
    To what degree do the two accounts of the accident concur?
  7. A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university or, in some countries, a college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.) [from 14th c.]
    She has two bachelor's degrees and is studying towards a master's degree.
  8. (geometry) A unit of measurement of angle equal to frac 1 of a circle's circumference. [from 14th c.]
    A right angle is a ninety-degree angle.
    Most humans have a field of vision of almost 180 degrees.
  9. (physics) A unit of measurement of temperature on any of several scales, such as Celsius or Fahrenheit. [from 18th c.]
    180 degrees Fahrenheit is equivalent to 100 degrees Celsius.
    Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
  10. (algebra) The sum of the exponents of a term; the order of a polynomial. [from 18th c.]
    A quadratic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 2.
  11. (algebra, field theory) The dimensionality of a field extension.
    The set of complex numbers constitutes a field extension of degree 2 over the real numbers.
    The Galois field \operatorname{GF}(125) = \operatorname{GF}(5^3) has degree 3 over its subfield \operatorname{GF}(5).
  12. (graph theory) The number of edges that a vertex takes part in; a valency.
  13. (logic) The number of logical connectives in a formula.
  14. (surveying) The curvature of a circular arc, expressed as the angle subtended by a fixed length of arc or chord.
  15. (geography) A unit of measurement of latitude and longitude which together identify a location on the Earth's surface.
  16. (grammar) Any of the three stages (positive, comparative, superlative) in the comparison of an adjective or an adverb.
  • (unit of angle) °
  • (unit of temperature) °
  • (unit of latitude) °
  • (unit of longitude) °
  • French: degré
  • German: Grad, Winkelgrad, Altgrad, Neugrad
  • Italian: grado
  • Portuguese: grau
  • Russian: гра́дус
  • Spanish: grado
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