degrees
plural of “degree” — a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
An inflected form of degree · plural.
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,519 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,734 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality also: grade, level a moderate grade of intelligencea high level of care is required
- a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process also: level, stage, point a remarkable degree of franknessat what stage are the social sciences?
- an award conferred by a college or university signifying that the recipient has satisfactorily completed a course of study also: academic degree he earned his degree at Princeton summa cum laude
- a measure for arcs and angles also: arcdegree there are 360 degrees in a circle
- the highest power of a term or variable
- a unit of temperature on a specified scale the game was played in spite of the 40-degree temperature
degrees in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
-
All the damnable degrees Of drinking have you stagger'd through.
The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1
-
By degrees Miette and Silvère had walked fully a league.
The Fortune of the Rougons · Émile Zola · Chapter 1
-
By degrees I got some unconscious knowledge of the characters of Shakespeare.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Complete · George Meredith · Chapter 1
-
He rose by degrees from mere spelling to the study of a foreign language, German.
The Soul of a Child · Edwin Björkman · Chapter 1
-
When the weather cleared up a little, we found ourselves eleven degrees north latitude, upon the coast of Guinea.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1