oblate

1 of 2

adjective

ob·​late ä-ˈblāt  ˈä-ˌblāt 

: flattened or depressed at the poles

an oblate spheroid

oblateness noun

oblate

2 of 2

noun

ob·​late ˈä-ˌblāt 

1

: a layman living in a monastery under a modified rule and without vows

2

: a member of one of several Roman Catholic communities of men or women

Examples of oblate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

For example, the 2004 Indonesian earthquake made the planet slightly less oblate — picture the figure skater pulling her arms in — and therefore shortened the day by 2.68 microseconds (1 microsecond is equal to 0.001 milliseconds). —Lara Williams, The Mercury News, 26 July 2024

This makes the Earth more oblate — or fatter — slowing the rotation of the planet and lengthening the day still further. —Damian Carrington, Vox, 17 July 2024

Instead our star is actually a little squished, or oblate. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024

But because the earth is an oblate spheroid, the sea level at the Equator is some 14 miles farther from the center of the earth than the sea level at the North Pole. —Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2023

Planet Earth is shaped more like an oblate spheroid which looks like a flatter circle. —Emy Rodriguez Flores, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2023

Because the Earth rotates, that shape gets compressed at the poles and bulges in the middle, forming a shape known as an oblate spheroid. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2021

Still, those oblate derrieres acknowledge that the flat stovetops of our Western kitchens make a rounded cooking vessel difficult to use. —James P. Dewan, chicagotribune.com, 16 Feb. 2018

Noun

As a result, the Earth's normal oblate shape, resembling a somewhat flattened sphere bulging at the equator, is flattening even more, Adhikari said. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 July 2024

In the north, Solomon knew, young oblates, the cherished daughters of gentlewomen, were given to the Lord out of the ranks of the nobility. —Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023

But Earth is an oblate spheroid, meaning a 3D shape created by an ellipsis that’s rotating around its shorter axis—like a more rounded jelly donut. —Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 12 Feb. 2020

This was unexpected at Jupiter—a heavy, fast rotating, oblate (flattened at the poles) planet. —Andrew Coates, Newsweek, 8 Mar. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from New Latin oblātus, from ob- ob- + -lātus (in prōlātus prolate)

Noun

probably borrowed from French oblat, going back to Middle French, "layperson living in a religious community after bequeathing it property," borrowed from Medieval Latin oblātus "person (as a child) given over to a monastery," derivative of oblātus, adjective, "given over (to a religious community)," going back to Latin, suppletive past participle of offerre "to put in a person's path, provide, offer entry 1" — more at tolerate

First Known Use

Adjective

1705, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1