polar coordinate

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. Usually polar coordinates one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis polar angle.

---

Etymology

Origin of polar coordinate

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Eventually she leads us toward more abstract concepts such as the polar coordinate system, a graphical approach to defining a point using distance and angle, as well as irrational numbers and decimals that repeat infinitely.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

The polar coordinate system provides an alternative method of mapping points to ordered pairs.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

The polar coordinate system is well suited for describing curves of this type.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Figure 7.29 Three points plotted in the polar coordinate system.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

This process generates a list of ordered pairs, which can be plotted in the polar coordinate system.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016