two-dimensional
Americanadjective
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having the dimensions of height and width only.
a two-dimensional surface.
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(of a work of art) having its elements organized in terms of a flat surface, especially emphasizing the vertical and horizontal character of the picture plane.
the two-dimensional structure of a painting.
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(in a literary work) shallow, unconvincing, or superficial in execution.
a novel having two-dimensional characters.
adjective
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of, having, or relating to two dimensions, usually describable in terms of length and breadth or length and height
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lying on a plane; having an area but not enclosing any volume
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lacking in depth, as characters in a literary work
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(of painting or drawing) lacking the characteristics of form or depth
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of two-dimensional
First recorded in 1895–1900
Explanation
Two-dimensional things are flat — they can be measured in length and width, but they have no depth. Geometrical shapes like squares, circles, and polygons are all two-dimensional. A sheet of paper may seem to be two-dimensional, but because it does have a measurable (if tiny) depth, it's actually three-dimensional. Your dog is also three-dimensional, but a picture of him on your computer screen is two-dimensional. You can also use this mathematical adjective to mean "superficial," or "shallow." A bad guy in a movie might be described as a two-dimensional character, for example, since he seems to have "no depth."
Vocabulary lists containing two-dimensional
Geometry - Introductory
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Geometry - Middle School
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Geometry - High School
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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.
At the center of the system is an extremely thin, two-dimensional sheet covered with individual atoms that are placed one at a time using a method adapted from semiconductor manufacturing.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Yet even as researchers have discovered increasingly capable two-dimensional semiconductor materials, one stubborn engineering problem has remained.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
"We've distilled a version of Turing that is a two-dimensional stereotype," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
As a flotilla of tall ships glided by behind him, he asked Americans to "reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens and reject the two-dimensional view of your country."
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
In a two-dimensional universe, curved through a third dimension, there is no center—at least not on the surface of the sphere.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
