degrees

noun

plural of degree
1
as in stages
an individual part of a process, series, or ranking they worked on the project by degrees and eventually it got done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in levels
the placement of someone or something in relation to others in a vertical arrangement a Freemason of the 32nd degree

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degrees For the best views look 40-90 degrees away from the radiant, where the glowing trains left in the wake of the fast-moving meteors will be at their longest. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2026 Sunday afternoon looks beautiful, with sunshine, lighter winds, and highs near 60 degrees. — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 In reality, the brain is a collection of subsystems that are, to varying degrees, interconnected and autonomous. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026 Now, students across the nation can receive Pell Grants not only to pay for traditional undergraduate degrees, but also short-term workforce training programs like apprenticeships, career and technical education and certificate programs. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 After graduating with degrees in Spanish and rhetoric and communications studies, Horton played professionally in Europe. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 The rest are just hats and come in various degrees of success. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 There were no Stop Sales on food, even though the only reach-in cooler had an ambient temperature of 49 degrees. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026 Fortunately for Skarsgård, the screening was in London, where the high temperature barely reached 60 degrees. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrees
  1. stages
  2. levels
  3. points
  4. positions
  5. chapters
  6. ranks
  7. phases
  8. echelons
Noun
  • Teams will inspect returning stages and prepare them for refurbishment before subsequent missions.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Many enterprise processes already have known stages, business rules and dependencies.
    — Pritam Debnath, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stages
Noun
  • Wine grapes have traditionally not been eaten because of their thicker skins, seeds and higher acidity levels.
    — Lizzie Kane, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The car-free social bike ride is accessible and open to all levels of cyclists ages 3 and over.
    — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of levels
Noun
  • Faulk explained the section from the Old Applehill Road to Douglas Street is considered a limited access highway because the state does not want businesses creating their own access points.
    — Lynn Kutter, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • When to use Chase Travel℠ There are several advantages of using Chase Travel℠ to redeem points for flights to South Africa (or any other type of travel).
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of points
Noun
  • Two Filipinos must fill above-the-line roles – director, writer or actor – and five more must work in key creative or technical crew positions.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Verstappen has called on Red Bull to sort out an issue which led to him losing positions at the start in Malaysia and in Saturday's sprint.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of positions
Noun
  • The narrative tone of certain chapters is conspiratorial while demystifying state secrets as if guiding an audience through insider baseball.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The first four chapters set the story up like a novel, building the characters.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of chapters
Noun
  • Since 2017, Tom Ford Beauty has gained about 20 ranks, today placing 19th, according to an aggregate of rankings from 23 countries.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • In a turnaround from last week, when the extended holiday lifted a number of novels into the upper ranks, comics sweep the top 10 this week.
    — Billboard Japan, Billboard, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of ranks
Noun
  • After the Dallas Cowboys’ collapse against the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Thursday night, the team will have a break this weekend to look in the mirror at some potential changes in all three phases.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Huafon will invest directly alongside Circ and other investors, with additional processing capacity planned for later phases.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of phases
Noun
  • The story picks up when 14-year-old Maeve and her older sister, Reg, start a secret phone romance with a boy from the local boat club who promises a way into the upper echelons of Cape Cod society.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • That period also provided the foundations for where City currently sits within the top echelons of world soccer – having won the UEFA Champions League back in 2023 and winning four consecutive Premier Leagues from 2021 to 2024.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of echelons

Phrases Containing degrees

Browse Nearby Words

degree
degrees
degressive
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Degrees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrees. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bon vivant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All