Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
triangulation [trahy-ang-gyuh-ley-shuh n] ExamplesWord Origin noun Surveying, Navigation.
- a technique for establishing the distance between any two points, or the relative position of two or more points, by using such points as vertices of a triangle or series of triangles, such that each triangle has a side of known or measurable length (base or base line) that permits the size of the angles of the triangle and the length of its other two sides to be established by observations taken either upon or from the two ends of the base line.
- the triangles thus formed and measured.
Origin of triangulation 1810–20; Medieval Latin triangulātiōn- (stem of triangulātiō) the making of triangles. See triangulate, -ion Examples from the Web for triangulation Contemporary Examples of triangulation
This is triangulation, except that in this case most of the public is against Obama.
Michael Tomasky
April 12, 2013
But there is no talk of triangulation; instead just a fact-defying rush to reinforce old narratives.
Partisan Spin Denies Obama Credit for Immigration Success
John Avlon
April 27, 2012
Even while ratcheting up his rhetoric against the GOP, Obama also engaged in a bit of Clintonian triangulation.
Howard Kurtz
June 29, 2011
He is the only chance the Democrats have for holding the White House, so he can afford to engage in triangulation.
The Lefty Revolt Against Obama
Howard Kurtz
April 12, 2011
McCain trotted out his own version of triangulation, pivoting from the president to the Senate Democratic leader.
McCain Blames Times for WikiLeaks
Howard Kurtz
November 30, 2010
Historical Examples of triangulation
If I had a transit, I could determine that by a vertical angle,––triangulation.
Robert Ames Bennet
He learns much of triangulation and of aneroid computations.
Carson Jay Lee
The distances from each cannon muzzle had been obtained by triangulation.
William Elliot Griffis, D. D.
In surveying, the base on which the triangulation is founded.
William Henry Smyth
We’ll have to find this hidden wireless by triangulation, just as we caught the dynamiters.
Lewis E. Theiss
British Dictionary definitions for triangulation triangulation noun
- a method of surveying in which an area is divided into triangles, one side (the base line) and all angles of which are measured and the lengths of the other lines calculated trigonometrically
- the network of triangles so formed
- the fixing of an unknown point, as in navigation, by making it one vertex of a triangle, the other two being known
- chess a key manoeuvre in the endgame in which the king moves thrice in a triangular path to leave the opposing king with the move and at a disadvantage
Word Origin and History for triangulation n.
1818, from Medieval Latin triangulationem (mid-12c., nominative triangulatio), noun of action from Latin *triangulare, from triangulum (see triangle).
triangulation in Science triangulation [trī-ăng′gyə-lā′shən]
- A method of determining the relative positions of points in space by measuring the distances, and sometimes angles, between those points and other reference points whose positions are known. Triangulation often involves the use of trigonometry. It is commonly used in the navigation of aircraft and boats, and is the method used in the Global Positioning System , in which the reference points are satellites.