secant
Geometry. an intersecting line, especially one intersecting a curve at two or more points.
Trigonometry.
(in a right triangle) the ratio of the hypotenuse to the side adjacent to a given angle.
(originally) a line from the center of a circle through one extremity of an arc to the tangent from the other extremity.
the ratio of the length of this line to that of the radius of the circle; the reciprocal of the cosine of a given angle or arc. Abbreviation: sec
cutting or intersecting, as one line or surface in relation to another.
Origin of secant
1Other words from secant
- se·cant·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use secant in a sentence
His father stood over him in wonder while he filled a sheet of paper with sines, cosines, secants, and such things.
Harper's Round Table, June 4, 1895 | VariousWe shall see this congruence consists of all lines which cut a twisted cubic twice, or of all secants to a twisted cubic.
In his tables the sines, tangents, and secants are only calculated to ten, instead of fifteen places of decimals.
The object lessons mentioned above have already illustrated the dependence of tangents and secants on angles.
Outlines of Educational Doctrine | John Frederick HerbartThus much of the Secants and Tangents severally: It followeth of both kindes joyntly together.
The Way To Geometry | Peter Ramus
British Dictionary definitions for secant
/ (ˈsiːkənt) /
(of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to that of the adjacent side; the reciprocal of cosine: Abbreviation: sec
a line that intersects a curve
Origin of secant
1Derived forms of secant
- secantly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for secant
[ sē′kănt′ ]
A straight line or ray that intersects a curve, especially a circle, at two or more points.
The ratio of the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle to the side adjacent to an acute angle. The secant is the inverse of the cosine.
The reciprocal of the abscissa of the endpoint of an arc of a unit circle centered at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system, the arc being of length x and measured counterclockwise from the point (1, 0) if x is positive or clockwise if x is negative.
A function of a number x, equal to the secant of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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