degree [ dih-gree ]
1. any of a series of steps or stages, as in a process or course of action; a point in any scale. The doctor will determine the degree of her illness. 2. a stage or point in or as if in progression or retrogression: We followed the degrees of her recovery with joy.
3. a stage in a scale of intensity or amount: a high degree of mastery.
4. extent, measure, scope, or the like:
To what degree will he cooperate?
5. a stage in a scale of rank or station; relative standing in society, business, etc.: His uncouth behavior showed him to be a man of low degree.
6. Education. an academic title conferred by universities and colleges as an indication of the completion of a course of study, or as an honorary recognition of achievement. She will pursue a medical degree.
7. a unit of measure, as of temperature or pressure, marked off on the scale of a measuring instrument: This thermometer shows a scale of degrees between only 20° and 40° C.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
8. a certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of relationship: a cousin of the second degree.
9. the distinctive classification of a crime according to its gravity: murder in the first degree.
