Definitions for tangent
ˈtæn dʒənttan·gent

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. tangentnoun

   a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point

2. tangent, tannoun

   ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. tangentnoun

   A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.

   I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.

2. tangentnoun

   A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.

   I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.

3. tangentnoun

   A small metal blade by which a clavichord produces sound.

4. tangentnoun

   In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to the angle. Symbols: tan, tg

5. tangentadjective

   Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.

6. tangentadjective

   Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Tangentnoun

   Tangent, in trigonometry, is a right line perpendicularly raised on the extremity of a radius, and which touches a circle so as not to cut it; but yet intersects another line without the circle called a secant that is drawn from the centre, and which cuts the arc to which it is a tangent. Antoine Furetière

   Etymology: tangent, Fr. tangens, Lat.

   Nothing in this hypothesis can retain the planets in their orbs, but they would immediately desert them and the neighbourhood of the sun, and vanish away in tangents to their several circles into the mundane space. Richard Bentley, Serm.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Tangent

   In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. More precisely, a straight line is said to be a tangent of a curve y = f(x) at a point x = c if the line passes through the point (c, f(c)) on the curve and has slope f'(c), where f' is the derivative of f. A similar definition applies to space curves and curves in n-dimensional Euclidean space. As it passes through the point where the tangent line and the curve meet, called the point of tangency, the tangent line is "going in the same direction" as the curve, and is thus the best straight-line approximation to the curve at that point. The tangent line to a point on a differentiable curve can also be thought of as a tangent line approximation, the graph of the affine function that best approximates the original function at the given point.Similarly, the tangent plane to a surface at a given point is the plane that "just touches" the surface at that point. The concept of a tangent is one of the most fundamental notions in differential geometry and has been extensively generalized; see Tangent space. The word "tangent" comes from the Latin tangere, "to touch".

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tangent

   In mathematics, a tangent is a line or plane that touches a curve, surface, or sphere at a single point, but if extended, doesn't cross it. In trigonometry, tangent is a basic function to describe a ratio of the length of the side opposite to the angle to the length of the adjacent side in a right-triangle. In general terms, 'tangent’ can also refer to something hardly or indirectly related, or a completely different line of thought or action. For instance, in a conversation or a discussion, going off on a tangent means digressing from the main subject or theme to discuss a different topic.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Tangentverb

   a tangent line curve, or surface; specifically, that portion of the straight line tangent to a curve that is between the point of tangency and a given line, the given line being, for example, the axis of abscissas, or a radius of a circle produced. See Trigonometrical function, under Function

2. Tangentadjective

   touching; touching at a single point

3. Tangentadjective

   meeting a curve or surface at a point and having at that point the same direction as the curve or surface; -- said of a straight line, curve, or surface; as, a line tangent to a curve; a curve tangent to a surface; tangent surfaces

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Tangent

   In geometry, the tangent line to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Informally, it is a line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. More precisely, a straight line is said to be a tangent of a curve y = f(x) at a point x = c on the curve if the line passes through the point on the curve and has slope f' where f' is the derivative of f. A similar definition applies to space curves and curves in n-dimensional Euclidean space. As it passes through the point where the tangent line and the curve meet, called the point of tangency, the tangent line is "going in the same direction" as the curve, and is thus the best straight-line approximation to the curve at that point. Similarly, the tangent plane to a surface at a given point is the plane that "just touches" the surface at that point. The concept of a tangent is one of the most fundamental notions in differential geometry and has been extensively generalized; see Tangent space. The word tangent comes from the Latin tangere, to touch.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tangent

   A right line raised perpendicularly on the extremity of a radius, touching the circle without cutting it.

Matched Categories

1. • Straight Line

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce tangent?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say tangent in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tangent in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tangent in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of tangent in a Sentence

1. Valery Giscard:

   From the outset, Britain positioned itself somewhat at a tangent to the European system, the current efforts by David Cameron's government run along the same lines.

2. "Scratch" Garrison:

   A plan is just a tangent vector on the manifold of reality.

3. Alex Oshmyansky:

   I was and still am a practicing physician and was just pretty upset about that, so I decided to go on kind of a tangent [ to ] try to fix it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=tangent
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Tangent
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=tangent
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangent
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangent
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=tangent
8. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=tangent
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=tangent