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Definition of "lattice" []

  • An open framework made of strips of metal, wood, or similar material overlapped or overlaid in a regular, usually crisscross pattern. (noun)
  • A structure, such as a window, screen, or trellis, made of or containing such a framework. (noun)
  • Something, such as a decorative motif or heraldic bearing, that resembles an open, patterned framework. (noun)
  • Physics A regular, periodic configuration of points, particles, or objects throughout an area or a space, especially the arrangement of ions or molecules in a crystalline solid. (noun)
  • Physics The spatial arrangement of fissionable and nonfissionable materials in a nuclear reactor. (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.

Use "lattice" in a sentence
  • "Clear leaves dot the flowers while daffodil crystals twine like flowery serpents through the black satin lattice framework."
  • "And no, we can't just let the system settle into its lowest-energy state and see what results; their proof only works if the lattice is infinitely large."
  • "Two face-centred cubic lattices can also interpenetrate in such a way that every point belonging to the one lattice is at the centre of gravity of a tetrahedron whose vertices are points belonging to the other lattice."