degreea mark, grade, level, phase; any of a series of steps or stages, as in a process or course of action; a point in any scale; extent, measure, scope, or the like: To what degree is he willing to cooperate?Not to be confused with:decree ? a formal and authoritative order having the force of law: a presidential decree; a judicial decision or order; a doctrinal act of an ecumenical councilAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embreede·gree (d?-gr??)n.1. One of a series of steps in a process, course, or progression; a stage: proceeded to the next degree of difficulty.2. A step in a direct hereditary line of descent or ascent: First cousins are two degrees from their common ancestor.3. Relative social or official rank, dignity, or position.4. Relative intensity or amount, as of a quality or attribute: a high degree of accuracy.5. The extent or measure of a state of being, an action, or a relation: modernized their facilities to a large degree.6. A unit division of a temperature scale.7. Mathematics A planar unit of angular measure equal in magnitude to 1/360 of a complete revolution.8. A unit of latitude or longitude, equal to 1/360 of a great circle.9. Mathematics a. The greatest sum of the exponents of the variables in a term of a polynomial or polynomial equation.b. The exponent of the derivative of highest order in a differential equation in standard form.10. a. An academic title given by a college or university to a student who has completed a course of study: received the Bachelor of Arts degree at commencement.b. A similar title conferred as an honorary distinction.11. Law A division or classification of a specific crime according to its seriousness: murder in the second degree.12. A classification of the severity of an injury, especially a burn: a third-degree burn.13. Grammar One of the forms used in the comparison of adjectives and adverbs. For example, tall is the positive degree, taller the comparative degree, and tallest the superlative degree of the adjective tall.14. Music a. One of the seven notes of a diatonic scale.b. A space or line of the staff.Idioms: by degrees Little by little; gradually. to a degree To a small extent; in a limited way: doesn’t like spicy food, but can eat a little pepper to a degree.[Middle English degre, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *d?gradus : Latin d?-, de- + Latin gradus, step; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.degree (d???ri?) n1. (Units) a stage in a scale of relative amount or intensity: a high degree of competence. 2. (Education) an academic award conferred by a university or college on successful completion of a course or as an honorary distinction (honorary degree)3. (Medicine) any of three categories of seriousness of a burn. See burn1234. (Law) (in the US) any of the categories into which a crime is divided according to its seriousness: first-degree murder. 5. (Sociology) genealogy a step in a line of descent, used as a measure of the closeness of a blood relationship6. (Grammar) grammar any of the forms of an adjective used to indicate relative amount or intensity: in English they are positive, comparative, and superlative7. (Music, other) music any note of a diatonic scale relative to the other notes in that scale: D is the second degree of the scale of C major. 8. (Units) a unit of temperature on a specified scale: the normal body temperature of man is 36.8 degrees Celsius. Symbol: ° See also Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale9. (Units) a measure of angle equal to one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the angle traced by one complete revolution of a line about one of its ends. Symbol: ° See also minute1, second21a Compare radian10. (Units) a. a unit of latitude or longitude, divided into 60 minutes, used to define points on the earth’s surface or on the celestial sphereb. a point or line defined by units of latitude and/or longitude11. (Units) a unit on any of several scales of measurement, as for alcohol content or specific gravity. Symbol: ° 12. (Mathematics) maths a. the highest power or the sum of the powers of any term in a polynomial or by itself: x4 + x + 3 and xyz2 are of the fourth degree. b. the greatest power of the highest order derivative in a differential equation13. obsolete a step; rung14. (Sociology) archaic a stage in social status or rank15. by degrees little by little; gradually16. to a degree somewhat; rather17. (Units) degrees of frost See frost3[C13: from Old French degre, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade] de?greeless adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014de?gree (d??gri) n. 1. any of a series of steps or stages, as in a process or course of action; a point in any scale. 2. a stage or point in or as if in progression or retrogression: We followed the degrees of her recovery with joy. 3. a stage in a scale of intensity or amount: a high degree of mastery. 4. extent, measure, scope, or the like. 5. a stage in a scale of rank or station, as in society, business, etc.: a lord of high degree. 6. an academic title conferred by universities and colleges upon the completion of studies, or as an honorary recognition of achievement. 7. a unit of measure, esp. of temperature, marked on the scale of a measuring instrument. 8. the 360th part of a complete angle or turn, often represented by the sign °, as in 45°. 9. the distinctive classification of a crime according to its gravity. 10. one of the parallel formations of adjectives and adverbs used to express differences in quality, quantity, or intensity, consisting in English of the comparative, positive, and superlative. 11. a. the sum of the exponents of the variables in an algebraic term: x3and 2×2 y are terms of degree three. b. the term of highest degree of a given equation or polynomial: The expression 3x2y + y2 + 1 is of degree three. c. the exponent of the derivative of highest order appearing in a given differential equation. 12. a tone, step, or note of a musical scale. 13. a certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of relationship: a cousin of the second degree. 14. Obs. a step, as of a stair. Idioms: 1. by degrees, by easy stages; gradually. 2. to a degree, a. somewhat. b. exceedingly. [1200?50; Middle English degre