<B>gravitate, </B>verb, <B>-tated,</B> <B>-tating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to move or tend to move toward a body by the force of gravity. <BR> <I>Ex. The planets gravitate toward the sun.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to settle down; sink; fall. <BR> <I>Ex. The sand and dirt in the water gravitated to the bottom of the bottle. (Figurative.) The market price ... is continually gravitating (Adam Smith).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to tend to go; be strongly attracted. <BR> <I>Ex. The attention of the audience gravitated to the stage as the lights dimmed.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cause to move downward by the force of gravity. noun <B>gravitater.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitation">
<B>gravitation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the fact that the earth pulls any object toward it and that the sun, moon, stars, and other such bodies in the universe do the same; the force or pull that makes bodies in the universe tend to move toward one another. The fall of bodies to the earth is an instance of gravitation. <DD><B> b. </B>a moving or tendency to move caused by this force. (SYN) attraction, pull. <DD><B> 2. </B>a settling down; sinking; falling. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a natural tendency toward some point or object of influence. <BR> <I>Ex. The gravitation of people to the cities leaves many farms vacant.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitational">
<B>gravitational, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with gravitation. <BR> <I>Ex. Newton described the course of gravitational action, but expressly refrained from speculating on its cause (Observer).</I> adv. <B>gravitationally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitationalfield">
<B>gravitational field,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the area about a planet or other heavenly body in which gravitation exerts a force on any object. <BR> <I>Ex. It is the Sun's enormous gravitational field that holds all the planets, near and far, circling in their orbits (Arthur C. Clarke).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitationallens">
<B>gravitational lens,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) a lenslike effect produced by the strong gravitational field of a massive object, such as a galaxy, causing light reflected from a quasar or other very distant object to bend or intensify as it passes through the field. <BR> <I>Ex. The twin quasars go beyond this phenomenon in showing that a massive body can act as a gravitational lens, creating multiple images of an object as an optical lens does (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitationalpull">
<B>gravitational pull,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the attractive force exerted by a planet or other heavenly body on another object. <BR> <I>Ex. The problem of return from a small satellite would be much simpler than return from Mars, because the satellite's gravitational pull is negligible (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<B>gravitative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with gravitation. <DD><B> 2. </B>tending or causing to gravitate. </DL>
<A NAME="gravitino">
<B>gravitino, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hypothetical elementary particle with a spin of 3/2, postulated in the theory of supergravity. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the supposedly "basic" building blocks of matter ... gluons that bind them inseparably, leptons, bosons and in one formulation that includes gravity, "gravitinos" (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitometer">
<B>gravitometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring specific gravities. </DL>
<A NAME="graviton">
<B>graviton, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hypothetical particle constituting a unit of gravitational force. <BR> <I>Ex. Other candidates for dark matter include theoretical particles, such as axions, ... gravitons, and quarks (Stephen S. Murray).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravity">
<B>gravity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the natural force that causes objects to move or tend to move toward the center of the earth. Gravity causes objects to have weight. <DD><B> b. </B>the natural force that makes objects move or tend to move toward each other; gravitation. (Abbr:) g. (SYN) attraction, pull. <DD><B> 2. </B>heaviness; weight. <BR> <I>Ex. He balanced the long pole at its center of gravity.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) seriousness; solemnity; earnestness. <BR> <I>Ex. The gravity of the child playing nurse was amusing in one so small.</I> (SYN) soberness. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) serious or critical character; importance. <BR> <I>Ex. The gravity of the situation was greatly increased by threats of war.</I> (SYN) significance. <DD><B> 5. </B>lowness of pitch. <DD><B> 6. </B>a measure of the weight of oil at a given temperature. </DL>
<A NAME="gravitycell">
<B>gravity cell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of electric cell in which the two electrolytes form in layers and do not mingle on account of their different specific gravities. Horizontal electrodes are used. </DL>
<A NAME="gravitydam">
<B>gravity dam,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a dam usually made of concrete or of cut-stone blocks that depends for stability primarily on the weight of materials used in its construction. </DL>
<A NAME="gravityfed">
<B>gravity-fed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> supplied by the action of gravity. <BR> <I>Ex. a gravity-fed spring or well.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravityfeed">
<B>gravity feed,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the act or process of supplying by gravity. </DL>
<A NAME="gravitymeter">
<B>gravity meter,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument that measures gravity at the earth's surface, used to locate oil, and in mapping; gravimeter. </DL>
<A NAME="gravityrailroad">
<B>gravity railroad,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> arailroad in which gravity moves cars down an incline. </DL>
<A NAME="gravitywave">
<B>gravity wave,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a wave between air and water or between layers of air, generated by the force of gravity. <BR> <I>Ex. The remarkably strong wind fields in the ionosphere ... were probably due largely to the effects of gravity waves, generated in the lower atmosphere, that propagate upwards (William W. Kellogg).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=gravitational wave.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="gravitywind">
<B>gravity wind,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wind produced by the downward motion of the air; katabatic wind. </DL>
<A NAME="gravure">
<B>gravure, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>photogravure or rotogravure. <DD><B> 2. </B>a plate or print produced by either of these processes. </DL>
<A NAME="gravy">
<B>gravy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-vies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the juice that comes out of meat in cooking. <BR> <I>Ex. The gravy and fat filled the pan as the meat roasted.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a sauce for meat, potatoes, or other food, made from this juice, usually by thickening it with flour. <BR> <I>Ex. When we dumped the flour in, the meat juice turned to lumpy gravy.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang.) easy gain or profit. <BR> <I>Ex. Some businesses fail while others get all the gravy.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gravyboat">
<B>gravy boat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, boat-shaped dish for serving gravy or sauce. </DL>
<A NAME="gravytrain">
<B>gravy train,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) something that yields great or easy profits, such as a business boon. <BR> <I>Ex. Everybody seems bent on picking up "easy money," getting on the gravy train, getting theirs while the getting is good (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="gray">
<B>gray, </B>noun, adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a color made by mixing black and white. <DD><B> 2. </B>a gray pigment or dye. <DD><B> 3. </B>gray cloth or clothing. <DD><B> 4. </B>a gray horse. <DD><B> 5. </B>gray or subdued light. <BR> <I>Ex. In the gray of the daybreak (Longfellow).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>something gray. <DD><B> 7. </B>person wearing gray. <DD><B> 8. </B>an international unit for measuring absorbed doses of radiation, equal to 1 joule per kilogram. It is intended to replace the rad. <BR> <I>Ex. Among the SI's derived units with special names are those for ... absorbed dose of radiation (the gray, or joules per kilogram) (Scientific American).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>having a color between black and white. <BR> <I>Ex. Ashes, lead, and hair getting white with age are gray.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having gray hair. (SYN) grizzled. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) old; ancient. (SYN) hoary. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) dark; gloomy; dismal. <BR> <I>Ex. a gray day, a gray existence.</I> (SYN) leaden. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>not clearly defined or identified. <BR> <I>Ex. a gray area.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>less extreme but not fully acceptable or legal. <BR> <I>Ex. the gray market.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>wearing gray, as the Cistercian monks, and others do. <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to make gray; become gray. <BR> <I>Ex. The decrease in the blood delivered to his head causes first a "graying" of his vision, then total blackness (Scientific American).</I> <DD> Also, (especially British,) <B>grey.</B> noun <B>grayness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="grayarea">
<B>gray area,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an area between opposites, neither one thing nor the other, as a question of principle which can be categorized as neither wholly right nor wrong. <BR> <I>Ex. Flying saucers are still in the gray area of space phenomena.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="grayback">
<B>grayback, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various animals, such as the gray whale of the northern Pacific, or various birds, such as the knot and the hooded crow. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=body louse.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="graybeard">
<B>graybeard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an old man. </DL>
<A NAME="graybirch">
<B>gray birch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a birch tree of eastern North America, often reaching a height of 40 feet, having triangular leaves and grayish-white bark. Its wood is used for firewood and in the manufacture of spools, shoe pegs, and wood pulp. </DL>
<A NAME="graybody">
<B>gray body,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a body that radiates at every wave length an amount of energy bearing a constant ratio to the amount radiated by a black body at the same temperature. </DL>
<A NAME="graycastiron">
<B>gray cast iron,</B> <B>=gray iron.</B></DL>
<A NAME="graycheekedthrush">
<B>gray-cheeked thrush,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a grayish-brown thrush of eastern and northern North America, very similar to the olive-backed thrush but having grayish cheeks and no eye ring. </DL>
