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# trajectory

noun (a trajectory, trajectories)

«trajectory» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A trajectory is the curved path that a thrown, kicked or fired object follows through the air or space. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#m1)
2. A trajectory is also the direction in which something develops over time, like the trajectory of a career or of prices. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and maths it is the path of a ball, arrow or rocket, usually an arch shape called a parabola because gravity pulls it down. In space lessons rockets and probes follow trajectories to planets. In grown-up talk: «on an upward trajectory» means getting better or bigger. Phrases: «the ball's trajectory», «change trajectory», «on a trajectory».

### Examples

- The football followed a high trajectory into the net. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x1)
- Scientists worked out the rocket's trajectory to Mars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x2)
- Gravity bends a ball's trajectory into a curve. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x3)
- The arrow's trajectory was too low and it hit the ground. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x4)
- Draw the trajectory of the paper plane on the graph. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x5)
- The team's results are on an upward trajectory. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x6)
- A strong wind changed the kite's trajectory. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/#x7)

### Note

Countable; plural «trajectories» (y → ies). Stress on «-JEC-». A trajectory is a path, not a speed. A thrown ball's path is a curve (a parabola), not a straight line, because gravity pulls it down all the time.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «trajectory» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trajectory/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«trajectory» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/trajectory.html) on Mova free.