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The gradient is a fancy word for derivative, or the rate of change of a function. Itâs a vector (a direction to move) that. 1  Points in the direction of greatest increase of a function (intuition on why)  Is zero at a local maximum or local minimum (because there is no single direction of increase)
noun. The definition of a gradient is a rate of an incline. An example of a gradient is the rate at which a mountain gets steeper.plural gradients). 1  A slope or incline. 2  A rate of inclination or declination of a slope. ( 3 calculus) Of a function y = f (x) or the graph of such a function, the rate of change of y with respect to x, that is, the amount by which y changes for a certain (often unit) change in x.