hypotenuse

[ hahy-pot-n-oos, -yoos ]

/ haɪˈpɒt nˌus, -ˌyus /

noun Geometry.

the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

Nearby words

Origin of hypotenuse

1565–75; earlier hypotenusa < Latin hypotēnūsa < Greek hypoteínousa (grámmē) subtending (line) (feminine present participle of hypoteínein to subtend), equivalent to hypo- hypo- + tein- stretch (see thin) + -ousa feminine present participle suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hypotenuse

The perpendicular is the mean proportional between the segments of the hypotenuse.
The Teaching of Geometry|David Eugene Smith
It usually takes a hypotenuse a long time to discover that it is the longest side of a triangle.
Options|O. Henry
In this figure the square formed on the hypotenuse is divided into two rectangles.
Montessori Elementary Materials|Maria Montessori
We see, too, that the interior figure is a square, and that it is constructed on the hypotenuse of the triangles in question.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, October 1899|Various

Presently he turned again, to return cross-lots along the hypotenuse of the triangle.
Sudden Jim|Clarence Budington Kelland

British Dictionary definitions for hypotenuse

hypotenuse

/ (haɪˈpɒtɪˌnjuːz) /

noun

the side in a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angleAbbreviation: hyp

Word Origin for hypotenuse

C16: from Latin hypotēnūsa, from Greek hupoteinousa grammē subtending line, from hupoteinein to subtend, from hypo- + teinein to stretch

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

Word Origin and History for hypotenuse

hypotenuse

1570s, from Late Latin hypotenusa, from Greek hypoteinousa "stretching under" (the right angle), fem. present participle of hypoteinein, from hypo- "under" (see sub-) + teinein "to stretch" (see tenet). Formerly often erroneously hypothenuse.

Science definitions for hypotenuse

hypotenuse

[ hī-pŏt′n-ōōs′ ]

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle. It is the longest side, and the square of its length is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.

Culture definitions for hypotenuse

hypotenuse

[ (heye-pot-n-oohs, heye-pot-n-yoohs) ]

In a right triangle (a triangle that has one right angle), the side opposite the right angle. (See Pythagorean theorem.)