coefficient of drag
- noun
- /ˌkoʊɪˈfɪʃənt əv dræɡ/
- Specialized
:
coeficiente de arrastre
- A lower coefficient of drag indicates that a car can move through the air more easily, enhancing its performance.
Examples
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The new car model has a remarkably low coefficient of drag, improving its fuel efficiency.
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Aerodynamic shapes have a lower coefficient of drag compared to boxy designs.
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A lower coefficient of drag means less energy is needed to move the object through air.
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Engineers worked to reduce the coefficient of drag on the airplane's wings for better performance.
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The coefficient of drag for the car was measured in the wind tunnel.
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The aircraft was designed to minimize air resistance, achieving a coefficient of drag of just 0.25.
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Engineers calculated the coefficient of drag to improve the vehicle's fuel efficiency during tests.
Synonyms
2
8.1
A number showing how easily an object moves through air or water
Surface Forms
Morphology
coefficient + of + drag
The phrase literally composes 'coefficient' (a constant or measure) + 'of' + 'drag' (fluid resistance), so a learner who knows those words can infer it is a numerical measure related to drag. However, the precise technical sense — that it is a specific dimensionless ratio involving fluid density, velocity squared and reference area — is domain-specific and not predictable from the constituents alone. Therefore it is partially transparent: understandable at a general level but requiring subject knowledge for the full definition.
Etymology
Coefficient of drag comes from the idea of turning the air's drag, the 'pull' on a moving object, into a single number called a coefficient. So, that number shows how much the air pulls on a shape when it moves, and a lower coefficient of drag means the object moves more easily.