rectilinear
Americanadjective
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forming a straight line.
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formed by straight lines.
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characterized by straight lines.
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moving in a straight line.
adjective
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in, moving in, or characterized by a straight line or lines
the rectilinear propagation of light
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consisting of, bounded by, or formed by a straight line or lines
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rectilinear
1650–60; < Late Latin rēctilīne ( us ) ( rēcti- recti- + līne ( a ) line 1 + -us adj. suffix) + -ar 1
Explanation
In math, a rectilinear shape is made up of straight lines. A square and a rectangle are both rectilinear. Rectilinear is used to mean "straight," so if something moves in a straight line, it has rectilinear motion. A photographer's rectilinear lens reflects images accurately, so their straight lines don't appear curved. This word comes from the Latin root rectus, meaning "straight." In geometry, the meaning goes beyond that — a rectilinear polygon has straight sides that meet at a 90 degree angle. So from your geometry teacher's perspective, a rectangular speed limit sign is rectilinear but an octagonal stop sign is not.
Vocabulary lists containing rectilinear
Geometry - Introductory
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Geometry (Base List)
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Measurement and Data
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lack of recognition, Feldman argues, reverberates through Caland’s heavily impastoed portraits of Moses and her enigmatic late abstractions such as the rectilinear paintings in the “Silent Letter Series.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Lowry’s rectilinear buildings suggest immobility beyond time, and urban orderliness without elegance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
There is, however, one group of burrowing creatures that uses rectilinear locomotion.
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2024
Inside Notre-Dame it is still a futuristic film décor - a towering mass of rectilinear metal scaffolding set against the curves and arches of the ancient Gothic stone.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2023
The pyramid and the rest of the city are oriented on a rectilinear grid 15° 25” from true north, a direction that may have aligned with the cave mouth.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
