collinear
Americanadjective
adjective
-
lying on the same straight line
-
having a common line
-
Sharing a common line, such as two intersecting planes.
-
Lying on the same line, such as a set of points.
Other Word Forms
- collinearity noun
- collinearly adverb
- noncollinear adjective
Etymology
Origin of collinear
Explanation
In geometry or algebra, when points are on the same line, they're collinear. Your math teacher might teach you how to graph collinear points. Although you're most likely to encounter the word collinear in a math textbook, it's sometimes used more generally to mean "in a row." So if you want to sound impressive, you could describe the collinear ducks crossing the street. Mathematically, it's good to know that two points are always collinear, since you can connect them with a straight line. Collinear has its roots in Latin, with the prefix col- meaning "with" and līneāris, "belonging to a line."
Vocabulary lists containing collinear
Geometry - High School
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High School Geometry, List 1
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Geometry (Base List)
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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 value of the determinate is 0, so the points are collinear.
From Textbooks • May 6, 2020
Using all-against-all blastp and MCScanX65 with default parameters in search of collinear paralogous relationships, five obvious collinear blocks were found in T. urartu.
From Nature • May 8, 2018
If they’re small, you can cultivate the soil, skimming below the surface with a collinear hoe or scuffle hoe to expose weed roots.
From Washington Post • Jul. 18, 2017
Show that u and v are collinear if and only if u × v = 0.
From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016
The origins of these four plane co-ordinate systems may be collinear with the axis of the optical system; and the corresponding axes may be parallel.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
Definitions 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.
