Illustration of gnomon
- bcdefg gnomon 2
1
: an object that by the position or length of its shadow serves as an indicator especially of the hour of the day: such as
a
: the pin of a sundial
b
: a column or shaft erected perpendicular to the horizon
2
: the remainder of a parallelogram after the removal of a similar parallelogram containing one of its corners
Examples of gnomon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The gnomon, or the shadow-casting protrusion, is 35 feet tall with a shadow twice that length.
—
Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 15 Nov. 2021
But the most original marketing device was a giant sundial, its vertical monument (called a gnomon) 28 feet long and 17 feet high and standing in a circle 34 feet in diameter.
—Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 July 2021
The pole serves as a gnomon, the part of a sundial that casts a shadow to denote time.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2020
There are many types of sundials, but in general each consists of a gnomon, a thin rod that casts a shadow onto a dial, and a flat plate or platform.
—Megan Arnett, Scientific American, 15 Mar. 2018
The original clock is missing its gnomon, the part of a sundial that casts a shadow, but an 18th-century museum curator described it having one in the shape of a pig’s tail, so Parslow re-created that, too.
—National Geographic, 19 Jan. 2017
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Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 15 Nov. 2021
But the most original marketing device was a giant sundial, its vertical monument (called a gnomon) 28 feet long and 17 feet high and standing in a circle 34 feet in diameter.
—Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 July 2021
The pole serves as a gnomon, the part of a sundial that casts a shadow to denote time.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2020
There are many types of sundials, but in general each consists of a gnomon, a thin rod that casts a shadow onto a dial, and a flat plate or platform.
—Megan Arnett, Scientific American, 15 Mar. 2018
The original clock is missing its gnomon, the part of a sundial that casts a shadow, but an 18th-century museum curator described it having one in the shape of a pig’s tail, so Parslow re-created that, too.
—National Geographic, 19 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Gnomon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnomon. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gnomon
noun
gno·mon
ˈnō-mən 
-ˌmän
: an object (as on a sundial) that by the position or length of its shadow serves to indicate the hour of the day
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