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.
Segmentally duplicated genes were identified in collinear segments, which contain at least two collinear gene pairs that were not separated by more than two non-collinear genes.
From Nature • May 8, 2018
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
In essence, each variable is “taking” part of the effect on Y that should be attributed to the collinear variable.
From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017
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
The triangles are “co-axial” in virtue of the property that the meets of corresponding sides are collinear and copolar, since the lines joining corresponding vertices are concurrent.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various
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.
