Definition of "geodesy" [ge•od•e•sy]

• The geologic science of the size and shape of the earth. (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.

• "Time is important in geodesy and we use all kinds of clocks."
• "Just curious, is there a particular subset of quasars that are typically used in geodesy?"
• "I suppose few of you know what geodesy is let alone understand how Vanguard 1 or any other space technology improved this particular branch of geoscience."