glob

adj. 1. involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope; as, global war; global monetary policy.
Syn. -- planetary, worldwide. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. shaped like a globe; spherical.
Syn. -- ball-shaped, globose, globular, orbicular, spheric, spherical. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. broad in scope or content; comprehensive. Opposite of noncomprehensive.
Syn. -- all-embracing, all-inclusive, across-the-board, blanket(prenominal), broad, complete, panoptic, wide. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. (Computers) Accessible and effective throughout an entire computer program, rather than in only one subroutine; -- used of variables; as, global variable. Opposite of local. [ PJC ]

n. def>A worldwide system of electronic navigation in which a vessel, aircraft or missile determines its latitude and longitude by measuring the transmission time from several orbiting satellites. GPS is more precise than any other navigation system available, yielding position accurate within 10 meters 95% of the time.
Syn. -- GPS.
[ RH ]

The precision of the GPS is dependent upon the very high timing accuracy of atomic clocks. Although the military originally intentionally degraded the signal and thus the accuracy for civilian users, GPS was nevertheless more precise than any other navigation system available. In 2000, President Clinton issued an executive order discontinuing the degrading of the signal for civilians. [ RH ]

On June 26, 1993 . . . the U.S. Air Force launched the 24th Navstar satellite into orbit, completing a network of 24 satellites known as the Global Positioning System, or GPS. With a GPS receiver that costs less than a few hundred dollars you can instantly learn your location on the planet -- your latitude, longitude, and even altitude -- to within a few hundred feet.
This incredible new technology was made possible by a combination of scientific and engineering advances, particularly development of the world's most accurate timepieces: atomic clocks that are precise to within a billionth of a second. https://web.archive.org/web/20011125121826/http://www4.nationalacademies.org/beyond/beyonddiscovery.nsf/web/gps?OpenDocument [ PJC ]

n. [ OE. globerde, from glow. ] A glowworm. [ Obs. ] Holland.

{ } a. [ L. globatus, p. p. of globare to make into a ball, fr. globus ball. ] Having the form of a globe; spherical. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. globus, perh. akin to L. glomus a ball of yarn, and E. clump, golf: cf. F. globe. ] 1. A round or spherical body, solid or hollow; a body whose surface is in every part equidistant from the center; a ball; a sphere. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything which is nearly spherical or globular in shape; as, the globe of the eye; the globe of a lamp. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The earth; the terraqueous ball; -- usually preceded by the definite article. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A round model of the world; a spherical representation of the earth or heavens; as, a terrestrial or celestial globe; -- called also artificial globe. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A body of troops, or of men or animals, drawn up in a circle; -- a military formation used by the Romans, answering to the modern infantry square. [ 1913 Webster ]

Him round
A globe of fiery seraphim inclosed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Globe amaranth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Gomphrena (G. globosa), bearing round heads of variously colored flowers, which long retain color when gathered. --
Globe animalcule, a small, globular, locomotive organism (Volvox globator), once throught to be an animal, afterward supposed to be a colony of microscopic algæ. --
Globe of compression (Mil.), a kind of mine producing a wide crater; -- called also overcharged mine. --
Globe daisy (Bot.), a plant or flower of the genus Globularing, common in Europe. The flowers are minute and form globular heads. --
Globe sight, a form of front sight placed on target rifles. --
Globe slater (Zool.), an isopod crustacean of the genus Spheroma. --
Globe thistle (Bot.), a thistlelike plant with the flowers in large globular heads (Cynara Scolymus); also, certain species of the related genus Echinops. --
Globe valve. (a) A ball valve. (b) A valve inclosed in a globular chamber. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Globe, Sphere, Orb, Ball. -- Globe denotes a round, and usually a solid body; sphere is the term applied in astronomy to such a body, or to the concentric spheres or orbs of the old astronomers; orb is used, especially in poetry, for globe or sphere, and also for the pathway of a heavenly body; ball is applied to the heavenly bodies concieved of as impelled through space. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Globed p. pr. & vb. n. Globing. ] To gather or form into a globe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A plectognath fish of the genera Diodon, Tetrodon, and allied genera. The globefishes can suck in water or air and distend the body to a more or less globular form. Called also porcupine fish, and sea hedgehog. See Diodon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Trollius (T. Europæus), found in the mountainous parts of Europe, and producing handsome globe-shaped flowers. (b) The American plant Trollius laxus. [ 1913 Webster ]

Japan globeflower. See Corchorus. [ 1913 Webster ]