degree
• noun 1 the amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present. 2 a unit of measurement of angles, equivalent to one ninetieth of a right angle. 3 a unit in a scale of temperature, intensity, hardness, etc. 4 an academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or completion of a course. 5 each of a set of grades (usually three) used to classify burns according to their severity. 6 chiefly N. Amer. a legal grade of crime, especially murder. 7 a step in direct genealogical descent. 8 archaic social or official rank. — PHRASES by degrees gradually. to a degree 1 to some extent. 2 dated to a considerable extent. — ORIGIN Old French, from Latin gradus ‘grade’.
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