rectangle
Americannoun
-
rectangles
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rectangle
1565–75; < Medieval Latin rēctangulum, Late Latin rēctiangulum right-angled triangle (noun use of neuter of rēctiangulus having a right angle), equivalent to rēcti- recti- + angulum angle 1
Explanation
A rectangle is any shape with four sides and four right angles. All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares (all the sides in a square have to be the same length). The rect in rectangle comes from the Latin rectus, which means "right" or "straight." Because of its right angles, a rectangle has straight sides. Another word with the same root is rectitude, which means moral uprightness. A morally upright person is someone who does the right thing, but doing the right thing doesn't make you a square — or a rectangle.
Vocabulary lists containing rectangle
Geometry - Introductory
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The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 2
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Geometry - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
There have been many prominent attempts over the years to solve the problem of accurately representing the surface of a sphere on a flat rectangle, each with its own benefits and drawbacks.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Yet, anyone born with “19” at the start of their birthyear still remembers how it felt to leave the house without a black rectangle in their hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
Carrots and papaya plants have already pushed up through a rectangle of dark soil, thanks to a technique based on organic fertilisers made from a mixture of compost and chicken manure.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
Once the dough had risen, I rolled it into a rectangle, spread on a thin layer of the miso-béchamel, showered it with Parmesan, Pecorino Romano and a very healthy amount of black pepper.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2025
The rectangle for her picture was harder to make out.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Those red rectangles that you step off and get on for people in wheelchairs, those are probably our No. 1 priority, making sure they’re accessible.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
A jumble of rectangles snaps into a rigidly composed vista of a white gate set into an earthy wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
That memorial includes 805 hanging steel rectangles representing each of the counties in the United States where lynchings took place.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
Nearby, irregular, rusty red rectangles stamped from an unidentified frame are laid end-to-end on a scroll of white paper that runs across a low, horizontal pedestal before bending up to climb a wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2024
I’ve already decided on the pattern: a Double Wedding Ring, a series of interlocking circles made up of small rectangles of fabric.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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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.
