hypotenuse
Other forms: hypotenuses
The hypotenuse is the side of a right triangle that’s opposite the 90-degree angle. It’s a term specific to math, specifically geometry.
Hypotenuse comes from the Greek word hypoteinousa which means "stretching under." The hypotenuse “stretches under” the right angle of a triangle, which has an angle of 90 degrees. A right angle is the kind of angle that appears four times in squares and rectangles. If your triangle has a right angle, the line opposite that angle is the hypotenuse.
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the side of a right triangle opposite the right angletype of:flanka subfigure consisting of a side of something
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Vocabulary lists containing hypotenuse
Words selected by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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