distance vs altitude

distance and altitude both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
distance	Yes	No	Yes	No
altitude	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, altitude is a hyponym of distance; that is, altitude is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than distance:

distance: size of the gap between two places
altitude: the perpendicular distance from the base of a geometric figure to the opposite vertex (or side if parallel)

Other hyponyms of distance include leg, arm's length, gauge, light time, skip distance, wingspan, wingspread, wingspread.

distance (noun)	altitude (noun)
the property created by the space between two objects or points	elevation especially above sea level or above the earth's surface
size of the gap between two places	angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
indifference by personal withdrawal	the perpendicular distance from the base of a geometric figure to the opposite vertex (or side if parallel)
a distant region
the interval between two times
a remote point in time

distance (verb)	altitude (verb)
go far ahead of
keep at a distance