subtend
Americanverb (used with object)
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Geometry. to extend under or be opposite to.
a chord subtending an arc.
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Botany. (of a leaf, bract, etc.) to occur beneath or close to.
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to form or mark the outline or boundary of.
verb
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geometry to be opposite to and delimit (an angle or side)
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(of a bract, stem, etc) to have (a bud or similar part) growing in its axil
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to mark off
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to underlie; be inherent in
Etymology
Origin of subtend
1560–70; < Latin subtendere to stretch beneath, equivalent to sub- sub- + tendere to stretch; see tend 1
Vocabulary lists containing subtend
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 line with letters that subtend 5 minutes of an arc from 20 feet represents the smallest letters that a person with normal acuity should be able to read at that distance.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
Sitting in my study here, I glance out of the window and discern separate bricks, in houses five hundred feet away, with my unaided eye; they subtend a discernible angle.
From Recreations in Astronomy With Directions for Practical Experiments and Telescopic Work by Henry White Warren
It is obvious that these astrological hours will be of unequal length, as equal portions of the ecliptic subtend unequal angles at the pole of the equator.
From Notes and Queries, Number 69, February 22, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell
The cones, about the size of a small walnut, bear spirally arranged imbricated scales which subtend the three-angled winged seeds.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
We conclude that a double line cannot be fairly resolved unless its components subtend an angle exceeding that subtended by the wave-length of light at a distance equal to the horizontal aperture.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various
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