←

tangent

noun
🔊/ˈtændʒənt/
🔊/ˈtændʒənt/
 Idioms
jump to other results
  1. (geometry几何) a straight line that touches the outside of a curve but does not cross it切线
    • The cart track branches off at a tangent.手推车轨道在切线处分支。
    Topics Maths and measurementc2
  2. (abbreviation tan)
     (mathematics数学) the ratio of the length of the side opposite an angle in a right-angled triangle to the length of the side next to it 正切compare cosine, sineTopics Maths and measurementc2
    3. Word Originlate 16th cent. (in sense (2) and as an adjective): from Latin tangent- ‘touching’, from the verb tangere.
Idioms
fly/go off at a tangent (British English)
(North American English go off on a tangent)
  1. (informal) to suddenly start saying or doing something that does not seem to be connected to what has gone before突然转换话题；突然改变行动
    • He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.他从不坚持到底，但一直保持切线。
    • Laura’s mind went off at a tangent.劳拉的想法不切实际。