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Definition of "parallax" [par•al•lax]

  • An apparent change in the direction of an object, caused by a change in observational position that provides a new line of sight. (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 "parallax" in a sentence
  • ""Do not let us fear," wrote Lalande in his _Astronomie des Dames_, "do not let us fear to use the term parallax, despite its scientific aspect; it is convenient, and this term explains a very simple and very familiar effect.""
  • "I get the impression the author in the last link should have actually read the Wikipedia article he linked to, because what he calls parallax it calls stereopsis."
  • "The term parallax proving “caviare to the general,” they further explained that it meant the angle formed by the inclination of two straight lines drawn from either extremity of the earth’s radius to the moon."