: an arc of the horizon measured between a fixed point (such as true north) and the vertical circle passing through the center of an object usually in astronomy and navigation clockwise from the north point through 360 degrees
2
: horizontal direction expressed as the angular distance between the direction of a fixed point (such as the observer's heading) and the direction of the object
Recent Examples on the WebThe azimuth of the sun will be an angle of 215 degrees, according to eclipse2024.org.—Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Apr. 2024 Perun bounded between the panel and the radio, shouting himself hoarse, calculating azimuths, and correcting the aim of his stormers, snipers, and machine gunners.—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024 The drill holes were mainly placed in step-out rows subparallel to the 2017-2018 drilling, oriented with azimuths 230 - 260, generally inclined at minus 65 degrees from horizontal.—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 The rows were spaced approximately 50m to 100m apart and along the rows the collar spacings were 70m to 150m. There were four near vertical drill holes and three drill holes with azimuth perpendicular to the pattern that were made to test that there is no drill pattern bias in the results.—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 This is a tricky shot because the azimuth (cardinal direction) of the sunrise changes every day, and getting the right alignment between the two mountains and our much more distant star on the horizon took exacting timing.—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2023 The first few seconds of flights to geostationary orbit start with the rocket at an azimuth of 90 degrees, but this one required a 70-degree azimuth.—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 25 Oct. 2022 As well as reporting the azimuth (horizontal angle), elevation, and range of an object like a lidar does, radars can also detect its relative velocity, because the frequency of returning signals are Doppler-shifted.—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Mar. 2020 On the performance side, Coba is designed to have diesel-electric hybrid propulsion, equipped with azimuth pods for easy maneuverability and noise insulation.—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 17 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'azimuth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Medieval Latin azimut, from Arabic al-sumūt the azimuth, plural of al-samt the way
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