# deflection
## English
### Alternative forms

* deflexion (British)

### Etymology

From Latin dēflexiō, from dēflectere (“to deflect”; participle stem dēflex-) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns). The non-etymological spelling deflection is taken from the present stem dēflect-, associated with collection, dissection, etc.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /dɪˈflɛkʃən/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /dəˈflɛkʃən/
* Rhymes: -ɛkʃən

### Noun

deflection (countable and uncountable, plural deflections)
* The act of deflecting or something deflected.
    Russell's goalbound shot took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner.
** 1918, H. G. Wells, Joan and Peter:The next morning Oswald stopped short in the middle of his shaving, which in his case involved the most tortuous deflections and grimacings.
* Deviation (of a needle or other indicator or mechanism) from a previous position.
** 1993 June, Presidency of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “2.7.2 Take-Off”, in McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61, C-GMXQ, accident at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 July 1991‎, archived from the original on 14 May 2022:At about the time that #1 tyre failed, the Flight Data Recorder shows right rudder deflection. This may have been applied to correct a yaw to the left. (Traces of the left main gear on the runway show that the nose wheels were to the right of the centreline and never crossed it.) About 500 metres from the threshold, the inner wheels of the left main gear bogie had closed from about 2 1⁄2 metres to about one metre to the left of the centreline; this may have been because of over-correction for a tendency to yaw to the left or weather-cocking because of the surface wind. Whatever the reason, the actual deviation would probably have been considered insignificant to the cockpit crew.
* (figuratively) The act of refusing to address something (questions, criticism, etc.).
* Bending or deformation under load.
** 1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 148:The structure was examined and passed by the Board of Trade in February, 1890, after it had been tested with two trains of 50 loaded wagons, each hauled by two engines, and pushed by a third. The trains ran side by side, and their combined weight, including the six engines, was 1,800 tons. The deflections of the girders were precisely in accordance with the calculations of the engineers.
** 1993 June, Presidency of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “2.4 Tyre Failure”, in McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61, C-GMXQ, accident at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 July 1991‎, archived from the original on 14 May 2022:Tyre design deflection profile under load is about a one-third reduction in tyre section radius. If the tyre is overloaded, over-deflection will occur. Over-deflection results in a larger heat increase than would be expected from under-inflation. If one of a pair of tyres on the same axle is under-inflated, the other tyre may be overloaded.

#### Derived terms

* compass deflection
* deflection change
* deflection difference
* propwash deflection unit
* vertical deflection
* zero deflection

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “deflection”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.