displacement: Meaning and Definition of
dis•place•ment
Pronunciation: (dis-plās'munt), [key]
— n.
- the act of displacing.
- the state of being displaced or the amount or degree to which something is displaced.
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- the displacing in space of one mass by another.
- the weight or the volume of fluid displaced by a floating or submerged body. Cf. Archimedes' principle.
- the linear or angular distance in a given direction between a body or point and a reference position.
- the distance of an oscillating body from its central position or point of equilibrium at any given moment.
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- the volume of the space through which a piston travels during a single stroke in an engine, pump, or the like.
- the total volume of the space traversed by all the pistons.
- the amount of water that a vessel displaces, expressed in displacement tons.
- the offset of rocks caused by movement along a fault.
- the transfer of an emotion from its original focus to another object, person, or situation.
- See
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.