tangent
Other forms: tangents
A tangent is an entirely different topic or direction. When you want a break from geometry class, you might ask your teacher about his hobby of woodworking, a topic that's always good for a ten-minute tangent.
Tangent is mainly a mathematical term, meaning a line or plane that intersects a curved surface at exactly one point. The non-mathematical meaning of tangent comes from this sense of barely touching something: when a conversation heads off on a tangent, it's hard to see how or why it came up. When talking about history, someone suddenly brings last night's basketball game? Definitely a tangent.
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a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at only one pointtype of:straight linea line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature
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ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled trianglesynonyms: tantype of:circular function, trigonometric functionfunction of an angle expressed as a ratio of the length of the sides of right-angled triangle containing the angle
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a message that departs from the main subjectsynonyms: aside, digression, divagation, excursus, parenthesis
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Vocabulary lists containing tangent
Learn these words that derive from the Latin verb tangere, meaning "to touch." Here are links to the complete set of Common Senses lists: Hearing: Phon / Aud / Son Sight: Vid, Vis / Spec, Spect, Spic / Op, Ops, Opt Touch: Path / Sent, Sens / Tact, Tang
Review terms and concepts that are likely to appear on the ACT Math Test.
If you feel obtuse when it comes to angles, review this list of geometry terms. You'll learn about planes, polygons, perimeter, and more. It's as easy as pi!