angle

1
[ ang-guhl ]
See synonyms for angle on Thesaurus.com
noun

  1. Geometry.

    • the space within two lines or three or more planes diverging from a common point, or within two planes diverging from a common line.

    • the figure so formed.

    • the amount of rotation needed to bring one line or plane into coincidence with another, generally measured in radians or in degrees, minutes, and seconds, as in 12° 10prime; 30″, which is read as 12 degrees, 10 minutes, and 30 seconds.

  2. an angular projection; a projecting corner: the angles of a building.

  1. a viewpoint; standpoint: He looked at the problem only from his own angle.

  2. Journalism.

    • slant (def. 11).

    • the point of view from which copy is written, especially when the copy is intended to interest a particular audience: The financial editor added a supplementary article from the investor's angle.

  3. one aspect of an event, problem, subject, etc.: The accountant emphasized the tax angle of the leasing arrangement.

  4. Movies, Photography. angle shot.

  5. Informal. a secret motive: She's been too friendly lately—what's her angle?

  6. Astrology. any of the four interceptions of the equatorial circle by the two basic axes, the horizon and the meridian: commonly identified by the compass directions.

  7. angle iron (def. 2).

verb (used with object),an·gled, an·gling.

  1. to move or bend in an angle.

  2. to set, fix, direct, or adjust at an angle: to angle a spotlight.

  1. Journalism. to write or edit in such a way as to appeal to a particular audience; slant: She angled her column toward teenagers.

verb (used without object),an·gled, an·gling.

  1. to turn sharply in a different direction: The road angles to the right.

  2. to move or go in angles or at an angle: The trout angled downstream.

Idioms about angle

  1. play the angles, Slang. to use every available means to reach one's goal: A second-rate talent can survive only by playing all the angles.

Origin of angle

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin angulus, akin to uncus “bent” and Greek ankýlos “crooked, curved”; cf. ancylo-,

Words that may be confused with angle

Other definitions for angle (2 of 3)

angle2
[ ang-guhl ]
verb (used without object),an·gled, an·gling.

  1. to fish with hook and line.

  2. to attempt to get something by sly or artful means; fish: to angle for a compliment.

noun

  1. Archaic. a fishhook or fishing tackle.

Origin of angle

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun angel, angle, angul, Old English angel, angul; cognate with Frisian, Dutch angel, Old Saxon, Old High German angul, German Angel, Old Norse ǫngull; Greek ankýlos “bent, curved,” Sanskrit aṅkuśá- “hook, fishhook”; akin to Old English anga “a sting,” Old High German ango, Latin uncus “hook, barb,” Greek ónkos “hook, barb of an arrow”; the verb is derivative of the noun; relation, if any, to Latin angulus angle1 not clear

Other definitions for Angle (3 of 3)

Angle
[ ang-guhl ]
noun

  1. a member of a West Germanic people that migrated from Schleswig to Britain in the 5th century a.d. and founded the kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. As early as the 6th century their name was extended to all the Germanic inhabitants of Britain.

Origin of Angle

3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin Anglus (plural Anglī ) source of Old English Engle (plural) “the English,” variant of Engle, the name of a tribe that lived in modern-day Angeln (so named from its shape), in Schleswig; akin to angle1; see English

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use angle in a sentence

  • The tower has four clock faces, pinnacles at the angles, and a steep slate roof and is 120 feet high.

    Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

  • Not far from it was placed a tea-table, close to a big sofa which stood out at right angles from the wall.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens

  • The road had been built for bringing down lumber, and for six miles it was at perilous angles.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson

  • Four stairs from the bottom it turns round at right angles and deposits you fairly in the hall.

    First Plays | A. A. Milne

  • You see, a Frenchman and an Englishman or an American, view marriage from entirely different angles.

British Dictionary definitions for angle (1 of 3)

angle1

/ (ˈæŋɡəl) /

noun

  1. the space between two straight lines that diverge from a common point or between two planes that extend from a common line

  2. the shape formed by two such lines or planes

  1. the extent to which one such line or plane diverges from another, measured in degrees or radians

  2. an angular projection or recess; corner

  3. standpoint; point of view: look at the question from another angle; the angle of a newspaper article

  4. informal a selfish or devious motive or purpose

  5. See angle iron

verb

  1. to move in or bend into angles or an angle

  2. (tr) to produce (an article, statement, etc) with a particular point of view

  1. (tr) to present, direct, or place at an angle

  2. (intr) to turn or bend in a different direction: the path angled sharply to the left

Origin of angle

1
C14: from French, from Old Latin angulus corner

British Dictionary definitions for angle (2 of 3)

angle2

/ (ˈæŋɡəl) /

verb(intr)

  1. to fish with a hook and line

  2. (often foll by for) to attempt to get: he angled for a compliment

noun

  1. obsolete any piece of fishing tackle, esp a hook

Origin of angle

2
Old English angul fish-hook; related to Old High German ango, Latin uncus, Greek onkos

British Dictionary definitions for Angle (3 of 3)

Angle

/ (ˈæŋɡəl) /

noun

  1. a member of a West Germanic people from N Germany who invaded and settled large parts of E and N England in the 5th and 6th centuries a.d

Origin of Angle

3
from Latin Anglus, from Germanic (compare English), an inhabitant of Angul, a district in Schleswig (now Angeln), a name identical with Old English angul hook, angle ², referring to its shape

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 angle

angle

[ ăng′gəl ]

  1. A geometric figure formed by two lines that begin at a common point or by two planes that begin at a common line.

  2. The space between such lines or planes, measured in degrees. See also acute angle obtuse angle right angle.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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