Search results
- Dictionarytangent/ˈtan(d)ʒ(ə)nt/
noun
- 1. 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.
- 2. a completely different line of thought or action: "Loretta's mind went off at a tangent"
adjective
- 1. (of a line or plane) touching, but not intersecting, a curve or curved surface: "this curve is tangent to the average cost curve"
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
Learn the various meanings and uses of the word tangent, from trigonometry to grammar. Find synonyms, examples, etymology, and related phrases of tangent.
Learn the meaning of tangent in mathematics, geometry and idiom with Cambridge Dictionary. Find out how to use tangent in a sentence and see translations in different languages.
In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is, intuitively, 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.
Tangent is one of the six trigonometric functions that measures the ratio of opposite and adjacent sides of a right triangle. Learn how to find tangent using the right triangle formula, the unit circle, and a calculator, and see common tangent values and reference angles.
Learn what a tangent is in geometry, how to draw and find tangents to a circle, and the tangent radius and two tangents theorems. See examples, formulas, and worksheets on tangents and circles.
A line, curve, or surface touching but not intersecting another. The ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the side adjacent to the angle. The tangent of an angle is equal to the sine of the angle divided by the cosine of the angle.
Tangent is a trigonometric function that relates the lengths of opposite and adjacent sides of a right triangle. Learn how to calculate tangent, its identities, graphs, and properties, and see examples and applications.
