rectilinear
Americanadjective
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forming a straight line.
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formed by straight lines.
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characterized by straight lines.
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moving in a straight line.
adjective
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in, moving in, or characterized by a straight line or lines
the rectilinear propagation of light
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consisting of, bounded by, or formed by a straight line or lines
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of rectilinear
1650–60; < Late Latin rēctilīne ( us ) ( rēcti- recti- + līne ( a ) line 1 + -us adj. suffix) + -ar 1
Explanation
In math, a rectilinear shape is made up of straight lines. A square and a rectangle are both rectilinear. Rectilinear is used to mean "straight," so if something moves in a straight line, it has rectilinear motion. A photographer's rectilinear lens reflects images accurately, so their straight lines don't appear curved. This word comes from the Latin root rectus, meaning "straight." In geometry, the meaning goes beyond that — a rectilinear polygon has straight sides that meet at a 90 degree angle. So from your geometry teacher's perspective, a rectangular speed limit sign is rectilinear but an octagonal stop sign is not.
Vocabulary lists containing rectilinear
Geometry - Introductory
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Geometry (Base List)
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Measurement and Data
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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.
Lowry’s rectilinear buildings suggest immobility beyond time, and urban orderliness without elegance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Scholl explains that At Attin features a rectilinear grid plan city center, wrapped by suburbia in a more circular pattern that “is recognizable from space.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2024
There is, however, one group of burrowing creatures that uses rectilinear locomotion.
From Slate • Mar. 8, 2024
Inside Notre-Dame it is still a futuristic film décor - a towering mass of rectilinear metal scaffolding set against the curves and arches of the ancient Gothic stone.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2023
We may translate this to mean that he started the process of carving a statue by trying to visualize a figure in the rough, rectilinear block as it came to him from the quarry.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
