Tangent
noun
A straight line that touches a curve at a point without crossing it.
A tangent line was drawn on the circle
Often appears as...
- goes off on a tangent
- draw a tangent
Usage tips
Technical
adjective
Relating to a tangent.
We have a tangential relationship
noun
A sudden change of topic in a conversation.
In the middle of our discussions, John went off on a tangent
Often appears as...
- go off on a tangent
- tangential thought
Usage tips
Colloquial
noun
A completely different line of thought.
The manager had a tangent about the new product
Often appears as...
- go on a tangent
- change tangent
adjective
Hardly or indirectly related to the matter being discussed.
He made a tangential point about the budget
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A straight line that touches a curve at a point without crossing it.
A tangent line was drawn on the circle
Often appears as...
- goes off on a tangent
- draw a tangent
Usage tips
Technical
adjective
Relating to a tangent.
We have a tangential relationship
noun
A sudden change of topic in a conversation.
In the middle of our discussions, John went off on a tangent
Often appears as...
- go off on a tangent
- tangential thought
Usage tips
Colloquial
noun
A completely different line of thought.
The manager had a tangent about the new product
Often appears as...
- go on a tangent
- change tangent
adjective
Hardly or indirectly related to the matter being discussed.
He made a tangential point about the budget
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 5
Pro Tip 1/2Geometry Relevance
Used in geometry to describe a precise mathematical concept, often in discussions about shapes.
The geometry problem required us to calculate the angles where the tangent touches the circle.
Pro Tip 2/2Unique Intersection
In a tangent to a curve, the point of contact is unique and does not cross the curve.
At the point of tangency, the tangent only meets the curve once.
Pro Tip 1/2Geometry Relevance
Used in geometry to describe a precise mathematical concept, often in discussions about shapes.
The geometry problem required us to calculate the angles where the tangent touches the circle.
Pro Tip 2/2Unique Intersection
In a tangent to a curve, the point of contact is unique and does not cross the curve.
At the point of tangency, the tangent only meets the curve once.
Pro Tip 1/2Geometry Relevance
Used in geometry to describe a precise mathematical concept, often in discussions about shapes.
The geometry problem required us to calculate the angles where the tangent touches the circle.
Pro Tip 2/2Unique Intersection
In a tangent to a curve, the point of contact is unique and does not cross the curve.
At the point of tangency, the tangent only meets the curve once.
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Video examples
Safari Live - Day 288 PIPE...
odd and this position forcibly would be strange he's never come up this far and to drag a cub this way would have been quite interesting so it's a little bit of a mystery solved it's tangent column and not so we that are kind of in this area but it's really good news for us because you know you can see she's got a substantial meal it's gonna probably
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 206 PIPE...
mix there too so it's all chaos up that size and and I wonder if we're gonna see any fallout from that and whether or not they'll share it amicably or if they're going to move interesting enough I was talking to Rick's about the income apart and I know he's looking at ting on and straying off on a major tangent at the
Video examples
Why eyewitnesses get it...
it's like talking about the tangent of the visual angle all right their eyes just glaze over all right a good forensic expert also has to be a good educator a good communicator and that's part of the reason why we take the pictures to show not only the where the light sources are and what we call the
Video examples
Sugata Mitra: Build a...
used to sit and look up at the sky and say, "What are those twinkling lights?" They built the first curriculum, but we've lost sight of those wondrous questions. We've brought it down to the tangent of an angle. But that's not sexy enough. The way you would put it to a nine-year-old is to say,
Video examples
Casey Neistat for Nat...
transformative moment in my career because I realized making movies was a way of sharing ideas and sharing my perspectives with people that I otherwise might not ever have the opportunity to interact with when I look back at my career I see all of these tangents in the chant the tangents that
Video examples
The uncertain location...
Indulge me in a momentary tangent. How do we know about atomic structure? We can't see protons, neutrons, or electrons. So, we do a bunch of experiments and develop a model for what we think is there. Then we do some more experiments and see if they agree with the model.
Video examples
Scott Fraser: The...
When you present those to people who are not well-versed in those aspects of science and that, they become salamanders in the noonday sun. It's like talking about the tangent of the visual angle, all right? Their eyes just glaze over, all right?
Video examples
Flame-Throwing...
hey welcome to my garage garage this place is amazing I have so many different interests I I get involved one thing I find something else I just go on that tangent I like to have an idea in my head and then like a week or two
Video examples
Things you learned in...
actually we can calculate this right because we can take the opposite over the adjacent which is tangent right everybody's tellin sine cosine tangent this is our geometry and we can calculate our acts our X actually ends
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 125 PIPE...
Impala the leopard obviously heard that commotion Rushton killed the cheetah hoisted the cheetah as well as eating and wasting the Impala if I think I'm correct and also next now I've completely gone off on a tangent and
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 288 PIPE...
odd and this position forcibly would be strange he's never come up this far and to drag a cub this way would have been quite interesting so it's a little bit of a mystery solved it's tangent column and not so we that are kind of in this area but it's really good news for us because you know you can see she's got a substantial meal it's gonna probably
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 206 PIPE...
mix there too so it's all chaos up that size and and I wonder if we're gonna see any fallout from that and whether or not they'll share it amicably or if they're going to move interesting enough I was talking to Rick's about the income apart and I know he's looking at ting on and straying off on a major tangent at the
Video examples
Why eyewitnesses get it...
it's like talking about the tangent of the visual angle all right their eyes just glaze over all right a good forensic expert also has to be a good educator a good communicator and that's part of the reason why we take the pictures to show not only the where the light sources are and what we call the
Video examples
Sugata Mitra: Build a...
used to sit and look up at the sky and say, "What are those twinkling lights?" They built the first curriculum, but we've lost sight of those wondrous questions. We've brought it down to the tangent of an angle. But that's not sexy enough. The way you would put it to a nine-year-old is to say,
Video examples
Casey Neistat for Nat...
transformative moment in my career because I realized making movies was a way of sharing ideas and sharing my perspectives with people that I otherwise might not ever have the opportunity to interact with when I look back at my career I see all of these tangents in the chant the tangents that
Video examples
The uncertain location...
Indulge me in a momentary tangent. How do we know about atomic structure? We can't see protons, neutrons, or electrons. So, we do a bunch of experiments and develop a model for what we think is there. Then we do some more experiments and see if they agree with the model.
Video examples
Scott Fraser: The...
When you present those to people who are not well-versed in those aspects of science and that, they become salamanders in the noonday sun. It's like talking about the tangent of the visual angle, all right? Their eyes just glaze over, all right?
Video examples
Flame-Throwing...
hey welcome to my garage garage this place is amazing I have so many different interests I I get involved one thing I find something else I just go on that tangent I like to have an idea in my head and then like a week or two
Video examples
Things you learned in...
actually we can calculate this right because we can take the opposite over the adjacent which is tangent right everybody's tellin sine cosine tangent this is our geometry and we can calculate our acts our X actually ends
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 125 PIPE...
Impala the leopard obviously heard that commotion Rushton killed the cheetah hoisted the cheetah as well as eating and wasting the Impala if I think I'm correct and also next now I've completely gone off on a tangent and
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Tinnu Anand
Ultimately, entertainment and all the tangents related to it, will come down to one little gadget in our pockets, which is our mobile phones. And such will be the impact of this that they will not just influence but even dictate the content of all the other mediums of entertainment.
Quote examples
Jamie Hyneman
American Entertainer
As it turns out, one of the biggest choices we have doing the show is deciding the tangents we are allowed to take, the stuff that we see along the way. We're allowed to explore the world at large on these things; the urban-legend aspect of it is just kind of an excuse.
Quote examples
Martin Filler
American Critic
Although there are countless tangents that a career in the building arts can take, it is nonetheless most unusual for a major architectural practice to emerge once a firm's principals are well into what is loosely called middle age.
Quote examples
Barbara Corcoran
American Businesswoman
Most great entrepreneurs I know are nothing like the other kids. They're almost like tangent lines - those lines that seem to go nowhere. Nothing connects them, until they get out in the real world. Then they connect just fine.
Quote examples
Mel Giedroyc
English Entertainer
We love live because of the roughness round the edges, the excitement, the madness, and stuff going off on all sorts of weird tangents. It's like hosting a jolly in your house. We're welcoming people in and giving them snacks.
Quote examples
Geoffrey Rush
Australian Actor
I was not the young heroic model for 'Hamlet.' I tended to play those characters that orbited around them: the rogues and the rat bags and the idiots and the fools and the clowns that sway the plot somehow from a tangent.
Quote examples
Barbara Hepworth
English Artist
Halfway through any work, one is often tempted to go off on a tangent. Once you have yielded, you will be tempted to yield again and again... Finally, you would only produce something hybrid.
Quote examples
William Hurt
American Actor
The thrill of acting is the discovery part, so it all changes, but it has to change in a way that fits what is written. You can't just wander off and get interested in your own tangent.
Quote examples
Buddy Hackett
American Comedian
A comedian sees the world bent. I'm tangent to the circle.
Quote examples
June Brown
English Actress
I'm always doing that, going off at a tangent.
Quote examples
Tinnu Anand
Ultimately, entertainment and all the tangents related to it, will come down to one little gadget in our pockets, which is our mobile phones. And such will be the impact of this that they will not just influence but even dictate the content of all the other mediums of entertainment.
Quote examples
Jamie Hyneman
American Entertainer
As it turns out, one of the biggest choices we have doing the show is deciding the tangents we are allowed to take, the stuff that we see along the way. We're allowed to explore the world at large on these things; the urban-legend aspect of it is just kind of an excuse.
Quote examples
Martin Filler
American Critic
Although there are countless tangents that a career in the building arts can take, it is nonetheless most unusual for a major architectural practice to emerge once a firm's principals are well into what is loosely called middle age.
Quote examples
Barbara Corcoran
American Businesswoman
Most great entrepreneurs I know are nothing like the other kids. They're almost like tangent lines - those lines that seem to go nowhere. Nothing connects them, until they get out in the real world. Then they connect just fine.
Quote examples
Mel Giedroyc
English Entertainer
We love live because of the roughness round the edges, the excitement, the madness, and stuff going off on all sorts of weird tangents. It's like hosting a jolly in your house. We're welcoming people in and giving them snacks.
Quote examples
Geoffrey Rush
Australian Actor
I was not the young heroic model for 'Hamlet.' I tended to play those characters that orbited around them: the rogues and the rat bags and the idiots and the fools and the clowns that sway the plot somehow from a tangent.
Quote examples
Barbara Hepworth
English Artist
Halfway through any work, one is often tempted to go off on a tangent. Once you have yielded, you will be tempted to yield again and again... Finally, you would only produce something hybrid.
Quote examples
William Hurt
American Actor
The thrill of acting is the discovery part, so it all changes, but it has to change in a way that fits what is written. You can't just wander off and get interested in your own tangent.
Quote examples
Buddy Hackett
American Comedian
A comedian sees the world bent. I'm tangent to the circle.
Quote examples
June Brown
English Actress
I'm always doing that, going off at a tangent.
Example 1 of 10
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