mean distance

noun Astronomy.

the arithmetic mean of the greatest and least distances of a planet from the sun, used in stating the size of an orbit; the semimajor axis.

Origin of mean distance

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby mean distance

mean business, mean calorie, mean cell hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentration, mean deviation, mean distance, mean free path, mean length of utterance, mean lethal dose, mean life, mean line

British Dictionary definitions for mean distance

mean distance

noun

the average of the greatest and least distances of a celestial body from its primary