triangulation

noun

1. (uncountable)A technique in which distances and directions are estimated from an accurately measured baseline and the principles of trigonometry; (countable) an instance of the use of this technique.

   “The season of 1835–36 was employed in carrying on the triangulation; in which Colonel [George] Everest was much impeded by a long continuance of hazy and cloudy weather. It appears, however, that the principal triangulation was brought down to the line from Juktipura to Pagara; […]”

   “Russia began under Catherine II, and has since constantly either taken up at different points or extended the triangulations successively made, with always more perfection of men of science. Now, these triangulations form a fully connected series from north of the arctic circle to south of Dorpat.”

2. (countable)The network of triangles so obtained, that are the basis of a chart or map.
3. (countable)A delaying move in which the king moves in a triangular path to force the advance of a pawn.

   “[page 76] At this point, it may be useful to refer to a word that has been used in connection with earlier examples. The King has been said to indulge in a process called Triangulation. The word is harder than the idea. The basic fact is that the King can move to an adjacent square in one move, two moves or three moves, without returning to its point of origin. […] [page 77] This diagram […] shows a position where the triangulation is vital.”

4. (countable)A subdivision of a planar object into triangles, and by extension the subdivision of a higher-dimension geometric object into simplices.

   “Regular triangulations are a class in-between lifting and lexicographic triangulations. Their main draw-back in the context of this paper is that regularity depends on the specific realization and not only on the oriented matroid.”

   “A triangulation of a point configuration #92;mathbf#123;A#125;#92;in#92;mathbb#123;R#125;ᵈ is a collection of d-simplices all of whose vertices are points in #92;mathbf#123;A#125; that satisfies the following two properties: 1. The union of all these simplices equals conv(#92;mathbf#123;A#125;). (Union Property) 2. Any pair of these simplices intersects in a common face (possibly empty). (Intersection Property)”

5. (uncountable)A process by which an unknown location is found using three known distances from known locations.

   “A special advantage of radar is that it works during darkness and other periods of low visibility, which prevent visual triangulation and aircraft techniques for measuring nuclear clouds.”

6. (uncountable)The practice of repositioning one's group or oneself on the political spectrum in an attempt to capture the centre.

   “Triangulation was a presidential leadership strategy that presented the president as having borrowed elements of both the right and the left to develop some form of center policy amalgam.”

   “Increased security for women's health clinics was part of [Bill] Clinton's "third way," a politics of triangulation that moved the Democratic Party closer to the right and embraced neoliberal economic policies while offering comparatively moderate social positions.”

7. (uncountable)The use of three (or more) researchers to interview the same people or to evaluate the same evidence to reduce the impact of individual bias.

   “One recent attempt to combine both forms of data collection […] was based on a parallel methods approach, in which the results of two similar but separately located studies were triangulated. Triangulation entails overlapping the results at several points to enhance reliability. […] Other documented research has attempted to gain a broader view through the triangulation of two sets of data (quantitative and qualitative) on the same question, taken from the same respondents in a single study.”