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# gradient

«gradient» in Mova's school dictionary: **How steep a slope, hill or road is** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a gradient, gradients)

### meaning for a pupil

1) How steep a slope, hill or road is. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#m1)

2) (maths) A number that shows how steep a line is on a graph. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#m2)

3) (art) A smooth change from one colour or shade to another. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: gradient = rise ÷ run (how far up for each step across). In geography: steep gradients on hills, road signs give gradients like 10% (1 in 10). In art and computing: a colour gradient from light to dark.

### examples

- The road has a steep gradient. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x1)
- A sign warns of a 1 in 10 gradient. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x2)
- Work out the gradient of the line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x3)
- The cyclist struggled up the gradient. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x4)
- The picture has a blue to white gradient. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x5)
- A gentle gradient is easier to walk up. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/#x6)

### note

Countable. Pronounced GRAY-dee-ent. In maths: gradient = change in up ÷ change across; a bigger number means steeper; 10% = 1 in 10 = rises 10 m for every 100 m across. In the US, a road's slope is often called «grade».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «gradient» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradient/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.