global positioning system
noun
Simple meaning
A system which enables a mobile receiver to determine its precise location based on signals received from a constellation of US military satellites.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
glohbuhlpuhzihshuhnihngsihstuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡloʊbəlpəzɪʃənɪŋsɪstəm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
cartography
A system which enables a mobile receiver to determine its precise location based on signals received from a constellation of US military satellites.
A navigational system involving satellites and computers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on Earth by computing the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: (cartography) A system which enables a mobile receiver to determine its precise location based on signals received from a constellation of US military satellites.
Used this way, global positioning system is a specialist word with a clearly warm, approving pull. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Careful and exacting
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Military
- Historical writing
- News/reporting
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “global positioning system” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary from meanings, examples and other prompts.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.