coordinate

alternative coördinate · alternative co-ordinate

1. not comparableOf the same rank; equal.

   two coordinate terms

   1 more example

   whether there was one Supreme Governor of the world, or many co-ordinate powers presiding over each country

   1745, Edmund Law, Considerations on the State of the World with regard to the Theory of Religion

plural coordinates · alternative coördinate · alternative co-ordinate

1. astronomyA number representing the position of a point along a line, arc, or similar one-dimensional figure.

   Give me your coordinates and we'll come and rescue you.

   1 more example

   What makes Doveland so fascinating is that there are no records of a town with such a name, the town was not renamed or altered its zoning, and there is no map of the state that includes the coordinates of a town called Doveland, Wisconsin. Yet people claim they remember the town, had friends or relatives who lived there, have visited it, and a few folks have souvenirs to prove they have been to Doveland.

   2023 August 29, Lauren Dillon, “Doveland, Wisconsin: The Town That Wasn’t There”, in Historic Mysteries

2. Something that is equal to another thing.

   These are coordinates; because each, in the sphere of its powers, is equal to, and independent of the others; and because the three united make the government.

   1851, John C. Calhoun, A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United Statesᵂⁱᵏⁱˢᵒᵘʳᶜᵉ

3. humorousin pluralCoordinated clothes.

present singular third person coordinates · participle present coordinating · participle past coordinated · past coordinated · alternative coördinate · alternative co-ordinate

1. transitiveTo place in the same order or rank.

   Antonyms: subordinate

2. ambitransitiveTo synchronize (activities).

   It can be difficult to coordinate movement of both legs after an operation.

   1 more example

   I was playing tennis for the first time, and it was difficult to coordinate.

3. ambitransitiveTo match (objects, especially clothes).

   The outfit you're wearing doesn't coordinate.

   1 more example

   As a fashion editor, I pay obsessive attention to my appearance. Even when I pretend to look insouciant, each look has been painfully considered. The right earrings, coordinating shoes, the careful symmetry of a well-balanced look — these are things that please me. The gym has crushed my sartorial ambitions.

   2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times