Noun: tangent tan-junt
- A straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point
"The tangent to the circle touched it at only one point"
- Ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle
"In trigonometry, students learn to calculate the tangent of an angle";
- tan
- A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it
"If you speak from notes, remember that it's easy to get distracted or go off on a tangent"
Derived forms: tangents
Type of: circular function, straight line, trigonometric function
Encyclopedia: Tangent, Oregon