rectangle
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rectangle
1565–75; < Medieval Latin rēctangulum, Late Latin rēctiangulum right-angled triangle (noun use of neuter of rēctiangulus having a right angle), equivalent to rēcti- recti- + angulum angle 1
Explanation
A rectangle is any shape with four sides and four right angles. All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares (all the sides in a square have to be the same length). The rect in rectangle comes from the Latin rectus, which means "right" or "straight." Because of its right angles, a rectangle has straight sides. Another word with the same root is rectitude, which means moral uprightness. A morally upright person is someone who does the right thing, but doing the right thing doesn't make you a square — or a rectangle.
Vocabulary lists containing rectangle
Geometry - Introductory
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The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 2
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Geometry - Middle School
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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 MetroCard, a scuffed yellow rectangle that lived in wallets, coat pockets and the bottoms of tote bags for more than three decades, is officially reaching the end of the line.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025
Carrots and papaya plants have already pushed up through a rectangle of dark soil, thanks to a technique based on organic fertilisers made from a mixture of compost and chicken manure.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
In “Venice, Palazzo Dario,” each rectangle has a different kind of broken color and a different temperature.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025
The new design that is being rolled out is topped with a grid of dark solar panels on a white rectangle, which will be oriented "due south for optimal sunlight", the firm said.
From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025
She started a border of small circles that would go all the way around the big stone rectangle.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
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.
