TANGENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tangent mean? 

• TANGENT (noun)
  The noun TANGENT has 2 senses:

1. a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point

2. ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

  Familiarity information: TANGENT used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TANGENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("tangent" is a kind of...):

straight line (a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature)

Derivation:

tangency (the state of being tangent; having contact at a single point or along a line without crossing)

tangential (of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a tangent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

tan; tangent

Hypernyms ("tangent" is a kind of...):

circular function; trigonometric function (function of an angle expressed as a ratio of the length of the sides of right-angled triangle containing the angle)

Derivation:

tangential (of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a tangent)

 Context examples 

The vessel seemed to go off at a tangent to its former course and leapt almost instantly from view into the fog.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)