elevation Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the event of something being raised upward
    lift; raising.
    • an elevation of the temperature in the afternoon
    • a raising of the land resulting from volcanic activity
  2. noun the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
    superlative; pinnacle; acme; top; height; summit; peak; tiptop; meridian.
    • his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty
    • the artist's gifts are at their acme
    • at the height of her career
    • the peak of perfection
    • summer was at its peak
    • ...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame
    • the summit of his ambition
    • so many highest superlatives achieved by man
    • at the top of his profession
  3. noun angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
    EL; altitude; ALT.
  4. noun a raised or elevated geological formation
    natural elevation.
  5. noun distance of something above a reference point (such as sea level)
    • there was snow at the higher elevations
  6. noun (ballet) the height of a dancer's leap or jump
    • a dancer of exceptional elevation
  7. noun drawing of an exterior of a structure
  8. noun the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or scope of something
    aggrandisement; aggrandizement.
    • the aggrandizement of the king
    • his elevation to cardinal

WordNet

El`e*va"tion noun
Etymology
L. elevatio: cf. F. élévation.
Definitions
  1. The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; -- said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.; as, the elevation of grain; elevation to a throne; elevation of mind, thoughts, or character.
  2. Condition of being elevated; height; exaltation. "Degrees of elevation above us." Locke.
    His style . . . wanted a little elevation. Sir H. Wotton.
  3. That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill.
  4. (Astron.) The distance of a celestial object above the horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between it and the horizon; altitude; as, the elevation of the pole, or of a star.
  5. (Dialing) The angle which the style makes with the substylar line.
  6. (Gunnery) The movement of the axis of a piece in a vertical plane; also, the angle of elevation, that is, the angle between the axis of the piece and the line o sight; -- distinguished from direction.
  7. (Drawing) A geometrical projection of a building, or other object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon; orthographic projection on a vertical plane; -- called by the ancients the orthography.

Webster 1913