: the surface within or around the earth that is everywhere normal to the direction of gravity and coincides with mean sea level in the oceans
Examples of geoid in a Sentence
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This theoretical version of our watery world is known as the geoid.
—
Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024
West and her colleagues used the data to create ever more accurate models of the geoid—the shape of the Earth—factoring in gravitational fields and the planet’s rotation.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2024
The Earth’s interior is also made of different materials that impact gravity, creating lumps called geoids, like the one in the Indian Ocean.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
If the Earth were a uniform sphere, that geoid would be even, smooth, and largely uninteresting.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
The differences in Earth’s gravity are actually quite small, so most visual representations of the geoid are exaggerated to highlight the bumpiness, Shum told me.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 10 July 2023
This produces an exaggerated visualization of our planet’s gravitational high and low spots called the global geoid.
—Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 26 June 2023
Through this, satellite movements could be accurately calculated, and a model of Earth formed — also known as a geoid.
—Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2023
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Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024
West and her colleagues used the data to create ever more accurate models of the geoid—the shape of the Earth—factoring in gravitational fields and the planet’s rotation.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2024
The Earth’s interior is also made of different materials that impact gravity, creating lumps called geoids, like the one in the Indian Ocean.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
If the Earth were a uniform sphere, that geoid would be even, smooth, and largely uninteresting.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
The differences in Earth’s gravity are actually quite small, so most visual representations of the geoid are exaggerated to highlight the bumpiness, Shum told me.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 10 July 2023
This produces an exaggerated visualization of our planet’s gravitational high and low spots called the global geoid.
—Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 26 June 2023
Through this, satellite movements could be accurately calculated, and a model of Earth formed — also known as a geoid.
—Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Geoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geoid. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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