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.
Rectilinear shapes are easiest to build, Port says, but curved ones can also be done if there’s enough structural support.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 2022
Rectilinear motion is just one case in which the need for antiderivatives arises.
From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016
Rectilinear the grid may be, but it twists and turns in our imaginations as much as any winding road.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 5, 2015
This Image was Oblong and not Oval, but terminated with two Rectilinear and Parallel Sides, and two Semicircular Ends.
From Opticks or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light by Newton, Isaac, Sir
For the Rectilinear Harmonograph the form of lever pivot shown in Fig.
From Things To Make by Williams, Archibald
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.
