Dimension

How to spell dimension

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce dimension

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dimension mean?

1. nounA measurable extent of something, such as length, width, height, or depth.
2. nounA particular aspect or element of a situation, problem, or character.

Dimension in a sentence

• The carpenter checked every dimension before cutting the timber.

• The audit revealed a financial dimension that nobody had considered.

• Please note the exact dimension of the parcel on the shipping form.

• Her travels added a new dimension to her understanding of the work.

Where does dimension come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin dimensio, meaning 'a measuring out', which was formed from the verb dimetiri, 'to measure off completely'. That verb joins the prefix dis- (here in its reduced form di-, carrying a sense of 'apart' or 'thoroughly') to metiri, the ordinary Latin verb 'to measure'. English took the word in during the late fourteenth century by way of Old French dimension, and it first referred to physical extent: length, breadth and depth. From those concrete measurements the meaning broadened over the centuries to cover abstract aspects of a problem and, in mathematics and physics, the independent axes along which something can be measured. The shared root metiri also gave us 'measure' itself, which is a handy reminder that the heart of the word is about gauging size, and that the tricky middle is spelled with an 'i' and an 'e', not a double letter.

How the word is built

• di- (from dis-: apart, out)
• mens (from Latin metiri: to measure)
• -ion (noun suffix)