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
-
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.
Bound within the confines of a screen, Digital Richard looks largely two dimensional, but he's no ordinary chatbot.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
Their experiments confirm a long standing theoretical model of two dimensional magnetism first proposed in the 1970s.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026
"What I often say is that we tend to focus on this two dimensional surface of the rock that we were born on, that's the Earth," Loeb told Salon.
From Salon • Dec. 25, 2022
The 48-year-old artist toggles between two dimensional works, sculpture, installations and multimedia.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2020
"In the first place, we are not two dimensional shadows, and—why, what is the matter?"
From The 4-D Doodler by Waldeyer, Graph
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.
