tangent
tangent Lexical Profile
tangent Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A completely different line of thought or action that diverges suddenly from the main subject or course (often used in the phrase 'go off on a tangent').
"During the lecture on European history, the professor went off on a tangent about his favorite architecture in Rome."
A straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point, but if extended does not cross it at that point (in geometry).
"The students used a compass and straightedge to construct a tangent to the circle."
The trigonometric function that, for an acute angle in a right-angled triangle, is the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to it.
"To calculate the height of the building, she multiplied the distance from the base by the tangent of the angle of elevation."
• adjective
Touching a curve or surface at a single point without intersecting or crossing it (in geometry).
"The two circles are tangent to each other at the exact center of the diagram."
Word Nuance & Usage
In geometry, 'tangent' is the standard adjective (e.g., 'a line tangent to a circle'), whereas in figurative contexts meaning 'only slightly related or peripheral,' 'tangential' is the preferred adjective form.
• Rhymes for tangent
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 16th century from Latin tangentem, the present participle of tangere ('to touch'), originally coined as a mathematical term (linea tangens, 'touching line') by Danish mathematician Thomas Fincke in 1583.