Definition of "convection" [con•vec•tion]

• The act or process of conveying; transmission. (noun)
• Physics Heat transfer in a gas or liquid by the circulation of currents from one region to another. (noun)
• Physics Fluid motion caused by an external force such as gravity. (noun)
• Meteorology The transfer of heat or other atmospheric properties by massive motion within the atmosphere, especially by such motion directed upward. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term convection is often used to describe heat transfer that ccurs between a object and a fluid flowing across it."
• "Bubbles of air will begin to rise if they are warmer than the surrounding air – this is known as convection."
• "Sunspots are areas of intense magnetic power where thermal convection from the interior of the Sun has been inhibited."