1
: either of the two parallels of terrestrial latitude at a distance of about 23¹/₂ degrees north or south of the equator where the sun is directly overhead when it reaches its most northerly or southerly point in the sky compare tropic of cancer, tropic of capricorn
2
: of, relating to, or occurring in the tropics
tro·pic
ˈtrō-pik 
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of tropism or of a tropism
2
of a hormone
: influencing the activity of a specified gland
1
: turning, changing, or tending to turn or change in a (specified) manner or in response to a (specified) stimulus
geotropic
2
: attracted to or acting upon (something specified)
neurotropic
Examples of tropic in a Sentence
Noun
a vacation in the tropics
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Lagos, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
Richardson has since created a network of cameras across the U.S., from Alaska to Arizona, Hawaii to Maine, tundra to tropics.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 23 Oct. 2024
But that is a much more arduous task in the dense tropics.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
This is likely the beginning of a period of frenetic activity characteristic of August, September, and the first half of October in the Atlantic tropics.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 4 Aug. 2024
That’s in association with the MJO, or Madden-Julian Oscillation, a large-scale overturning circulation that meanders eastward through the global tropics.
—Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
That's another sign that the main development region of the Atlantic tropics is heating up way ahead of schedule this year.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 July 2024
Plants & Animals Plant of the Month: Hibiscus Nearly synonymous with the global tropics and subtropics, hibiscus symbolizes the Caribbean’s transnational past, present, and future.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Volcanoes are everywhere—found across tundras, islands, tropics.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Mar. 2023
David Faris, Newsweek, 9 July 2024
After a total of nine hours under the waves, two men with chattering teeth were able to emerge from their frigid craft into bright sunshine, blue skies and tropic heat.
—William J. Broad, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
For long hours Monday, gray clouds seemed to presage rain, and the damp air seemed to enhance the sultry sense of tropic life.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 4 July 2023
The engine that powers every tropic cyclone is convection: enormous volumes of moist, rising air create a vacuum at the surface that sucks in surrounding air as spiraling winds.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 1 June 2023
Here the lemon and orange grow to perfection and almost all of the fruits and vegetables of the temperate and semi-tropic climes flourish, while experiments made by some of our growers show that the banana, pineapple and other tropical fruits will do well.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2023
The underlying justification for their mastery of this bountiful, beautiful semi-tropic place was the conviction that their predecessors — native Americans, Spanish, Mexican — were unappreciative and undeserving, unlike the grateful and energetic Yankee.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2022
Recent research reveals more variety in this creature, which can be found in tropic locations around the world.
—David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Courtesy of Luke Auld-Thomas et al/Cambridge University Press Archaeologists increasingly recognize that the world's tropics and subtropics hosted a wide variety of urban forms in antiquity.
—Anna Lagos, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
Richardson has since created a network of cameras across the U.S., from Alaska to Arizona, Hawaii to Maine, tundra to tropics.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 23 Oct. 2024
But that is a much more arduous task in the dense tropics.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
This is likely the beginning of a period of frenetic activity characteristic of August, September, and the first half of October in the Atlantic tropics.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 4 Aug. 2024
That’s in association with the MJO, or Madden-Julian Oscillation, a large-scale overturning circulation that meanders eastward through the global tropics.
—Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
That's another sign that the main development region of the Atlantic tropics is heating up way ahead of schedule this year.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 July 2024
Plants & Animals Plant of the Month: Hibiscus Nearly synonymous with the global tropics and subtropics, hibiscus symbolizes the Caribbean’s transnational past, present, and future.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Volcanoes are everywhere—found across tundras, islands, tropics.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 before weakening into a tropic storm.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 9 July 2024
After a total of nine hours under the waves, two men with chattering teeth were able to emerge from their frigid craft into bright sunshine, blue skies and tropic heat.
—William J. Broad, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
For long hours Monday, gray clouds seemed to presage rain, and the damp air seemed to enhance the sultry sense of tropic life.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 4 July 2023
The engine that powers every tropic cyclone is convection: enormous volumes of moist, rising air create a vacuum at the surface that sucks in surrounding air as spiraling winds.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 1 June 2023
Here the lemon and orange grow to perfection and almost all of the fruits and vegetables of the temperate and semi-tropic climes flourish, while experiments made by some of our growers show that the banana, pineapple and other tropical fruits will do well.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2023
The underlying justification for their mastery of this bountiful, beautiful semi-tropic place was the conviction that their predecessors — native Americans, Spanish, Mexican — were unappreciative and undeserving, unlike the grateful and energetic Yankee.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2022
Recent research reveals more variety in this creature, which can be found in tropic locations around the world.
—David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2021
Dictionary Entries Near tropic
Cite this Entry
“Tropic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tropic. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tropic
1 of 3 noun
trop·ic
ˈträp-ik
1
: either of the two parallels of the earth's latitude that are approximately 23½ degrees north of the equator and approximately 23½ degrees south of the equator
2
plural often capitalized
: the region lying between the two tropics
tropic
2 of 3 adjective
: tropical
tropic
3 of 3 adjective
tro·pic
ˈtrō-pik
: of, relating to, or being a tropism
a tropic movement of a plant
Etymology
Noun
Middle English tropik (noun) "either of the points at which the sun appears furthest from the equator," from Latin tropicus (adjective) "of a solstice or equinox," from Greek tropikos (same meaning), from tropē "turn"; so called because a tropic marks the turning point in the sun's apparent path up the sky
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share