Gradient

How it is used

Engineers talk about steep, gentle, maximum and longitudinal gradients. For roads and railways the word grade is common, especially in American English, and for drainage pipes people often say fall.

Example sentences

1. The ramp gradient must not be steeper than 1 in 12 for wheelchair users.

2. Heavy trucks slow down on the 6% gradient near the tunnel.

Common collocations

• steep gradient
• longitudinal gradient
• maximum gradient
• cross-fall
• gradient of 1 in 20

Related terms

• drainageThe system of pipes, channels, gullies and ditches that collects rainwater or wastewater and carries it away from a road, building or site.
• pavementThe layered structure of a road, runway or parking area that carries the traffic, usually asphalt or concrete laid over granular base layers.
• levelThe height of a point above a fixed reference, such as a site benchmark or sea level. It is also the name of the instrument surveyors use to measure heights.
• culvertA pipe or box-shaped channel that carries a stream or drainage water under a road, railway or embankment.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• gradient · Graphic Design

More terms: Roads and Bridges

• asphalt
• subgrade
• bridge deck
• abutment
• pier
• bearing
• expansion joint