A Quick and Simple Dictionary

gradient

1. Noun.  A slope or incline.
2. Noun.  A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.
3. Noun.  (calculus) Of a function ''y'' = ''f''(''x'') or the graph of such a function, the rate of change of ''y'' with respect to ''x'', that is, the amount by which ''y'' changes for a certain (often unit) change in ''x''.
4. Noun.  (physics) The rate at which a physical quantity increases or decreases relative to change in a given variable, especially distance.
5. Noun.  (vector) A vector operator that maps each value of a scalar field to a vector equal to the greatest rate of change of the scalar. Notation for a scalar field φ: $abla$φ.