GRAVITATIONAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gravitational mean? 

• GRAVITATIONAL (adjective)
  The adjective GRAVITATIONAL has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or caused by gravitation

  Familiarity information: GRAVITATIONAL used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRAVITATIONAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or caused by gravitation

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

gravitational; gravitative

Pertainym:

gravitation ((physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface)

Derivation:

gravitation (movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction)

gravitation ((physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface)

 Context examples 

The Hubble research team, however, used a technique in which they did not need to look for the gravitational influence of stars as tracers of dark matter.

(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)

The technique astronomers use to find the planet, called OGLE-2013-BLG-0341LBb, is called gravitational microlensing.

(Newfound Frozen World Orbits in Binary Star System, NASA)

Such mergers will produce ripples through spacetime called gravitational waves.

(Three Black Holes on Collision Course, NASA)

Unlike the icy moons of giant planets, Pluto cannot be heated by gravitational interactions with a much larger planetary body.

(The Icy Mountains of Pluto, NASA)

The interior of Saturn vibrates at frequencies that cause variations in its gravitational field.

(Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn, NASA)

The 2006 CODATA recommended value of the gravitational constant is approximately 6.67428xE10-11 m3/kg/s2.

(Gravitational Constant, NCI Thesaurus)

Merging supermassive black holes create lower-frequency gravitational waves than the relatively small black holes LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and similar ground-based experiments can detect.

(Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars, NASA)

The gravitational pull among the planets creates slight changes to their orbital periods, and from these timing effects planetary masses can be derived.

('Cotton Candy' Planet Mysteries Unravel in New Hubble Observations, NASA)

The researchers note the planetary wobble could be caused by the gravitational pull of a hypothetical second planet in the system, rather than a moon.

(Astronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System, NASA)

As a symphony orchestra emits sound across an array of frequencies, the gravitational waves emitted by black holes occur at different frequencies and times, said lead author Karan Jani of Vanderbilt University.

(Observing 'black hole symphony' using gravitational wave astronomy, National Science Foundation)