Gradient

a.	1.	Moving by steps; walking; as, gradient automata.
	2.	Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination; as, the gradient line of a railroad.
	3.	Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.
n.	1.	The rate of regular or graded ascent or descent in a road; grade.
	2.	A part of a road which slopes upward or downward; a portion of a way not level; a grade.
	3.	The rate of increase or decrease of a variable magnitude, or the curve which represents it; as, a thermometric gradient.
	4.	(Chem., Biochem.) The variation of the concentration of a chemical substance in solution through some linear path; also called concentration gradient; - usually measured in concentration units per unit distance. Concentration gradients are created naturally, e.g. by the diffusion of a substance from a point of high concentration toward regions of lower concentration within a body of liquid; in laboratory techniques they may be made artificially. Gradient post a post or stake indicating by its height or by marks on it the grade of a railroad, highway, or embankment, etc., at that spot.

Noun	1.	gradient - a graded change in the magnitude of some physical quantity or dimension
	2.	gradient - the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal; "a five-degree gradient" Synonyms: slope

bank, bevel, bezel, chute, easy slope, fleam, gentle slope, glacis, grade, hanging gardens, helicline, hillside, inclination, incline, inclined plane, launching ramp, lean, leaning, pitch, ramp, rise, rising, scarp, shelving beach, side, slant, slope, steep slope, stiff climb, talus, tilt, uprise, uprising, vertical height