[n] an activity that varies from a norm or standard; "any variation in his routine was immediately reported"
[n] the act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard; "who is responsible for these variations in taxation?"
[n] (ballet) a solo dance or dance figure
[n] an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard; "he patented a variation on the sandal"
[n] something a little different from others of the same type; "an experimental version of the night fighter"; "an emery wheel is a modern variant of the grindstone"
[n] a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished
[n] an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change
[n] (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration
[n] (astronomy) any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite (especially a perturbation of the earth's moon)
[n] the angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north