right triangle

American  

noun

1. a triangle having a right angle (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

I’m sure you’ve driven across or seen large steel truss bridges that are made by combining any number of huge steel beams into right triangles that interconnect.

From Seattle Times

These functions, such as the sine and cosine, are defined using right triangles.

From Scientific American

You may also remember the simple equation, discovered by Pythagoras thousands of years ago, that describes a right triangle: A squared + B squared = C squared.

From Seattle Times

The Kresling pattern looks like a series of stacked right triangles wrapping around the robot’s belly, making it resemble a ridged and slightly squashed cylinder.

From Scientific American

The bedroom is shaped like a pentagon and the sitting room with built-in shelving is the shape of a right triangle.

From Washington Post