Gradient /(?)/

Gra·di·ent

Gradient

a.
  1. Moving by steps; walking; as, gradient automata.
  2. Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination; as, the gradient line of a railroad.
  3. Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.

Gradient

n.
  1. The rate of regular or graded ascent or descent in a road; grade.
  2. A part of a road which slopes upward or downward; a portion of a way not level; a grade.
  3. The rate of increase or decrease of a variable magnitude, or the curve which represents it; as, a thermometric gradient.
  4. The variation of the concentration of a chemical substance in solution through some linear path; also called concentration gradient; -- usually measured in concentration units per unit distance. Concentration gradients are created naturally, e.g. by the diffusion of a substance from a point of high concentration toward regions of lower concentration within a body of liquid; in laboratory techniques they may be made artificially. (Chem., Biochem.)

Phrases & Compounds
Gradient post
a post or stake indicating by its height or by marks on it the grade of a railroad, highway, or embankment, etc., at that spot.