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third dimension

third dimension

2 4.0
Depth that makes objects look solid instead of flat
  • noun
translation icon : tercera dimensión
  • If you are just a two-dimensional square, you can't imagine the third dimension.

And it suggests that it's a pictorial message in three dimensions.

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Examples

  • Vanderbei's solution to showing the population differences without distorting the geography is to render the population data into a third dimension on a spinning 3D map.

    Blog text (15)
  • Birds can escape predators and find food by traveling through the third dimension.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • But there was certainly a third dimension here.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And it turned out with just three dimensions, we could describe this space.

  • But say in three dimensions, we don't know how to do that.

  • We spent all our life in three dimensions, going forward, backward, left, right, up, down.

  • The third dimension of the framework contains the core disciplinary ideas for the three science areas and for engineering and technology.

    Academic text (2012)
  • What is missing in this picture is a kind of third dimension that shows how, in developing new technologies and products, results from many areas of science and technology usually must be combined.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Two-dimensional up to this point, the balloon acquired a third dimension as it grew, becoming a much more literal balloon.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • In art, the use of shadows can create a third dimension that makes the painting feel more realistic.

Synonyms

depth
vsthird dimension
318 1.0

How far down something goes from its top to its bottom

is the spatial property that creates measurable inward distance in objects
three-dimensionality
vsthird dimension
1 7.3

Having height, width, and depth

is about the spatial aspect that makes flat shapes have volume
third-dimensionality
vsthird dimension
8.1

The quality of having three dimensions like length, width, and depth

is about the spatial aspect that makes flat shapes have volume

Antonyms

two-dimensional
  • Specialized
7 3.5

Has only length and width but no depth

How Three-Dimensional

third dimension
2 4.0
two-dimensional
  • Specialized
7 3.5
one-dimensionality
  • Specialized
7.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

third + dimension

The phrase 'third dimension' is directly compositional: 'third' identifies the ordinal position and 'dimension' names a measurable aspect, so together they denote the dimension that adds depth beyond length and width. This concept and the modifier-noun composition are cross-linguistically common and follow standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The term third dimension comes from the idea of adding a new direction to a flat picture: imagine a square on the page and then imagine it coming out toward you to make a cube. That extra direction gives 'depth', so third dimension means having depth as well as length and width.