asymptote

[ as-im-toht ]

/ ˈæs ɪmˌtoʊt /

Save This Word!

noun Mathematics.

a straight line approached by a given curve as one of the variables in the equation of the curve approaches infinity.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between "it’s" and "its" in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 8

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of asymptote

1650–60; <Greek asýmptōtos, equivalent to a-a-⁶ + sýmptōtos falling together (sym-sym- + ptōtós falling, derivative of ptō-, variant stem of píptein to fall + -tos verbid suffix)

Words nearby asymptote

asymmetric bars, asymmetric time, asymmetric warfare, asymmetry, asymptomatic, asymptote, asymptotic, asymptotic freedom, asynapsis, asynchronism, asynchronous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use asymptote in a sentence

Even so there are asymptote figures in geometry where an infinite length makes only a finite progress in breadth.
Theodicy|G. W. Leibniz
If these factors are all real and distinct, there is an asymptote corresponding to each factor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5|Various
But after you have demonstrated to him the properties of the hyperbola and its asymptote, the apparent absurdity vanishes.
The Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences|Edward Hitchcock
Asymptote, a line always approaching some curve but never meeting it.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia|Edited by Rev. James Wood

The curve is symmetrical about the axis of y and has the axis of x for its asymptote.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for asymptote

asymptote

/ (ˈæsɪmˌtəʊt) /

noun

a straight line that is closely approached by a plane curve so that the perpendicular distance between them decreases to zero as the distance from the origin increases to infinity

Word Origin for asymptote

C17: from Greek asumptōtos not falling together, from a- 1 + syn- + ptōtos inclined to fall, from piptein to fall

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 asymptote

asymptote

[ ăs′ĭm-tōt′ ]

A line whose distance to a given curve tends to zero. An asymptote may or may not intersect its associated curve.