precession

noun

pre·​ces·​sion prē-ˈse-shən 

: a comparatively slow gyration of the rotation axis of a spinning body about another line intersecting it so as to describe a cone

precessional

prē-ˈsesh-nəl 

-ˈse-shə-nᵊl

adjective

Examples of precession in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Britain's King Charles III and France's President Emmanuel Macron travel in the 1902 State Landau carriage during a carriage precession at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. —Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 8 July 2025

However, on account of the wobble of the Earth's axis (called precession), the celestial pole shifts as the centuries go by. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 27 June 2025

Physicists describe the speed of this precession using a number, g, which almost a century ago was theoretically calculated to be exactly 2. —Eleni Petrakou, Scientific American, 8 June 2025

The irregular patterns may also be caused by the slow, wobbly motion of the protostar's jet over time, a phenomenon known as precession. —Victoria Corless, Space.com, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin praecession-, praecessio, from Medieval Latin, act of preceding, from Latin praecedere to precede

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing precession

• precession of the equinoxes

Rhymes for precession

• accession
• aggression
• compression
• concession
• confession
• depression
• digression
• discretion
• expression
• impression
• obsession
• oppression

Kids Definition

precession

noun

pre·​ces·​sion prē-ˈsesh-ən 

: a comparatively slow circling of the rotation axis of a spinning body about another line intersecting it

precess

prē-ˈses

ˈprē-ˌses

verb