right triangle

American  

noun

1. a triangle having a right angle (contrasted with oblique triangle).

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right triangle British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): right-angled triangle.  a triangle one angle of which is a right angle

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right triangle Scientific  

1. A triangle having a right angle.

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right triangle Cultural  

1. A triangle that contains a right angle.

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Etymology

Origin of right triangle

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The Pythagorean theorem provides an equation to calculate the longer side of a right triangle by summing the squares of the other two sides.

From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023

In this equation, a, b and c represent the lengths of the three sides of a right triangle, a triangle with a 90-degree angle between two of its sides.

From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023

It represents the hypotenuse of the right triangle.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2022

The numbers 3 and 4 represent the measurements of each leg of a right triangle in which 5 is the length of the hypotenuse.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2022

He or his disciples discovered the Pythagorean theorem: the sum of the squares of the shorter sides of a right triangle equals the square of the longer side.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan