an inclined part of a road or railway; a slope 公路(或铁路)斜面;斜坡 fail-safe brakes for use on steep gradients. 在陡峭路面上使用的,有自动防故障设置的刹车。 ■the degree of such a slope 坡度 the path becomes very rough as the gradient increases. 小路越来越陡,也变得不平坦起来。 ■(Mathematics)the degree of steepness of a graph at any point (数学)梯度,斜率
(Physics)an increase or decrease in the magnitude of a property (e.g. temperature, pressure, or concentration) observed in passing from one point or moment to another (物理)梯度 ■the rate of such a change 梯度率 ■(Mathematics)the vector formed by the operator ▽ acting on a scalar function at a given point in a scalar field (数学)梯度算子
语源
mid 19th cent.: from grade, on the pattern of salient