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
-
of, having, or relating to two dimensions, usually describable in terms of length and breadth or length and height
-
lying on a plane; having an area but not enclosing any volume
-
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.
"We've distilled a version of Turing that is a two-dimensional stereotype," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
For many years, the Supreme Court refused to embrace this two-dimensional conception of equal protection.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
Their findings, published in Science Advances in the paper "Manipulating the direction of turbulent energy flux via tensor geometry in a two-dimensional flow," could have implications for medicine, coastal management, and climate science.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
GTA I and II in the late 1990s were much simpler, two-dimensional affairs with a top-down perspective.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
Every two-dimensional shape that we encounter in art is the counterpart to a three-dimensional form.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
