trajectory

The path something follows as it moves, especially through the air.

• The ball followed a curved trajectory.
• Wind changed the arrow’s trajectory.
• They calculated the rocket’s trajectory before launch.

How to use it: the trajectory of something (We measured the trajectory of the ball.)

Similar words: path, course

Common phrases: flight trajectory, trajectory of something, change trajectory, spacecraft trajectory

The series of states a changing system passes through over time.

• The model predicts the system’s trajectory.
• Different initial states produce different trajectories.
• We plotted the trajectory through phase space.

Common phrases: system trajectory, phase trajectory, trajectory through something