rectilinear
or rec·ti·lin·e·al
forming a straight line.
formed by straight lines.
characterized by straight lines.
moving in a straight line.
Origin of rectilinear
1Other words from rectilinear
- rec·ti·lin·e·ar·ly, adverb
Words Nearby rectilinear
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rectilinear in a sentence
It shows a boy, not looking where he’s going, head in a book, as he travels from a mostly rectilinear and geometric landscape to a riot of twisted and abstract forms, reminiscent of seas and forest floors and other worlds.
Elizabeth Alexander Wants to Know if Art Can Solve America's Problems | Belinda Luscombe | April 6, 2022 | TimeThis truth becomes evident when we consider a map of the United States, with its familiar rectilinear boundaries to the north and south and patchwork of state borders spanning the landmass.
De Rossi has prepared a map of the principal part of it, divided into fifteen rectilinear and generally rectangular areas.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowJust as the triangle is the simplest rectilinear figure of geometry, so also is it the simplest closed ornamental pattern.
Elements of Folk Psychology | Wilhelm WundtThe largest of these is apparently the occasion of a slight deviation from its otherwise rectilinear course.
The Astronomy of the Bible | E. Walter Maunder
The chief member of the cornice, directly beneath the gutter, by its great projection and rectilinear faces forming the drip.
History of Ancient Art | Franz von ReberBut Oughtred had invented also a rectilinear slide rule, a description of which appeared in 1633.
William Oughtred | Florian Cajori
British Dictionary definitions for rectilinear
rectilineal
/ (ˌrɛktɪˈlɪnɪə) /
in, moving in, or characterized by a straight line or lines: the rectilinear propagation of light
consisting of, bounded by, or formed by a straight line or lines
Derived forms of rectilinear
- rectilinearly or rectilineally, 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 rectilinear
[ rĕk′tə-lĭn′ē-ər ]
Relating to, consisting of, or moving in a straight line or lines.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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