verb
- past tense of precess; moved in a slow circular motion around an axis while rotating
Usage: physics; astronomy
Examples
- The spinning top precessed slowly as it lost momentum.
- Earth’s axis has precessed over thousands of years.
- The gyroscope precessed when a force was applied to it.
- Scientists observed how the planet’s rotation precessed around its orbital axis.
- The wobbling wheel precessed in a predictable pattern.