degree day
1
6.8
- noun
- /dɪˈɡriː deɪ/
- Specialized
:
grados día
- It's been a nice break from a rather relentless stretch of heat that resulted in tying a record for most 90-degree days in a month in July (21).
- Heating degree-days
- Cooling degree-days
Examples
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A 55-degree day can feel deceptively cold when you're basically standing in one spot for more than three hours, especially when the sun goes down.
Blog text (23) -
So for example, you could buy a contract on the number of degree days of a certain amount in Florida.
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Could last Friday have been the last 90-degree day of the season?
Blog text (21) -
After our last heat wave ended on August 5th, Philadelphia has had just two 90-degree days over the past two-plus weeks.
Blog text (21) -
2010 featured a record number of 90-degree days, but the following winter featured eight weeks of rather persistent winter chill and six weeks of snow and ice.
Blog text (21) -
During a blistering 91-degree day in Puerto Rico, people rejoiced as their vote has brought the island one step closer to statehood.
Blog text (23) -
The heating system is designed to function optimally with an average of 3,500 degree days each year.
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Engineers calculate the number of degree days to determine how much energy will be needed for heating in winter.
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To ensure comfort in winter, our building design takes into account the expected degree days in our region.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combines 'degree' (here: a unit of temperature) and 'day', so a learner can partially infer it is a measurement relating degrees over a day, but the precise notion (cumulative deviation used to estimate heating/cooling needs) is specialised and not directly predictable. Additionally, 'degree' is polysemous (e.g. academic qualification), which can mislead learners; overall the relation to the parts is partial but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The measurement degree day comes from the idea of one degree of temperature difference lasting one day. People add up these daily differences to estimate how much 'heating' or 'cooling' a building needs, so the term means a unit used to predict energy use.