tangent

[ tan-juhnt ]

/ ˈtæn dʒənt /

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See synonyms for: tangent / tangents on Thesaurus.com

adjective

in immediate physical contact; touching.

Geometry.

touching at a single point, as a tangent in relation to a curve or surface.
in contact along a single line or element, as a plane with a cylinder.

tangential (def. 3).

noun

Geometry. a line or a plane that touches a curve or a surface at a point so that it is closer to the curve in the vicinity of the point than any other line or plane drawn through the point.

Trigonometry.

(in a right triangle) the ratio of the side opposite a given angle to the side adjacent to the angle.
Also called tan. (of an angle) a trigonometric function equal to the ratio of the ordinate of the end point of the arc to the abscissa of this end point, the origin being at the center of the circle on which the arc lies and the initial point of the arc being on the x-axis. Abbreviation: tg, tgn
(originally) a straight line perpendicular to the radius of a circle at one end of an arc and extending from this point to the produced radius which cuts off the arc at its other end.

the upright metal blade, fastened on the inner end of a clavichord key, that rises and strikes the string when the outer end of the key is depressed.

OTHER WORDS FOR tangent

1 meeting, abutting.

See synonyms for tangent on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about tangent

off on / at a tangent, digressing suddenly from one course of action or thought and turning to another: The speaker flew off on a tangent.

Origin of tangent

1585–90; <Latin tangent- (stem of tangēns, present participle of tangere to touch) in phrase līnea tangēns touching line; see -ent

OTHER WORDS FROM tangent

quasi-tangent, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tangent

circumference, diameter, radius, tangent

Words nearby tangent

tangata tiriti, tangata whenua, Tange, tangelo, tangency, tangent, tangent galvanometer, tangential, tangentiality, tangentially, tangential motion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tangent in a sentence

Between where there were two possible directions and zero possible directions, there was one — where the line was tangent to the circle.
Can You Hit These Riddles Out Of The Park?|Zach Wissner-Gross|October 15, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
At no time were you allowed to venture into the wall, though you were permitted to be tangent to the wall or on a grid point along a wall.
Are You Clever Enough?|Zach Wissner-Gross|August 13, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Solver Ian Rhile recognized that to lop off as much area from the square as possible, both cuts had to be tangent to the circle.
Can You Systematically Solve A Friday Crossword?|Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com)|April 30, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
To remove as much area as possible, each of those cuts would have been tangent to the circle while making a 45 degree angle with the sides of the square.
Can You Systematically Solve A Friday Crossword?|Zach Wissner-Gross (riddlercolumn@gmail.com)|April 30, 2021|FiveThirtyEight

Then, the next morning, he did that radio show and went on his notorious tangent about Chuck Lorre.
Being Charlie Sheen’s Goddess|Marlow Stern|August 3, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Not every tangent Jacobson follows is particularly illuminating, as he is the first to admit.
Great New Reads|The Daily Beast|October 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
At last the climbing trail dipped into a level tangent just below the top of the mountain.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run|Stanley R. Matthews
Mr. Benjamin had been in the neighborhood, but, hearing that the enemy were in Madison, had gone off at a tangent.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
The mere thought of the hospital sent her mind flying off at a tangent.
Quin|Alice Hegan Rice
The last wipe should be a quick stroke coming off of joint on a tangent.
Elements of Plumbing|Samuel Dibble
Two guns were for a time in the hands of the Boers, who, I believe, removed the tangent sights.
In the Ranks of the C.I.V.|Erskine Childers

British Dictionary definitions for tangent

tangent

/ (ˈtændʒənt) /

noun

a geometric line, curve, plane, or curved surface that touches another curve or surface at one point but does not intersect it

(of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to that of the adjacent side; the ratio of sine to cosineAbbreviation: tan

the straight part on a survey line between curves

music a part of the action of a clavichord consisting of a small piece of metal that strikes the string to produce a note

on a tangent or at a tangent on a completely different or divergent course, esp of thoughtto go off at a tangent

adjective

of or involving a tangent
touching at a single point

touching

almost irrelevant

Derived forms of tangent

tangency, noun

Word Origin for tangent

C16: from Latin phrase līnea tangēns the touching line, from tangere to touch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for tangent

tangent

[ tăn′jənt ]

A line, curve, or surface touching but not intersecting another.

The ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the side adjacent to the angle. The tangent of an angle is equal to the sine of the angle divided by the cosine of the angle.

The ratio of the ordinate to the abscissa of the endpoint of an arc of a unit circle centered at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system, the arc being of length x and measured counterclockwise from the point (1, 0) if x is positive or clockwise if x is negative.

A function of a number x, equal to the tangent of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.

Other Idioms and Phrases with tangent

tangent

see on a tangent.

tangent

OTHER WORDS FOR tangent

Idioms about tangent

Origin of tangent

OTHER WORDS FROM tangent

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tangent

Words nearby tangent

Words related to tangent

How to use tangent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tangent

Derived forms of tangent

Word Origin for tangent

Scientific definitions for tangent

Other Idioms and Phrases with tangent