Rectangular Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms rectangular American [rek-tang-gyuh-ler] / rɛkˈtæŋ gyə lər /

adjective

1. shaped like a rectangle.

2. having the base or section in the form of a rectangle.

   a rectangular pyramid.

3. having one or more right angles.

4. forming a right angle.

rectangular British / rɛkˈtæŋɡjʊlə /

adjective

1. shaped like a rectangle

2. having or relating to right angles

3. mutually perpendicular

   rectangular coordinates

4. having a base or section shaped like a rectangle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• nonrectangular adjective
• nonrectangularity noun
• nonrectangularly adverb
• rectangularity noun
• rectangularly adverb
• rectangularness noun
• subrectangular adjective
• unrectangular adjective
• unrectangularly adverb

Etymology

Origin of rectangular

1615–25; < Medieval Latin rēctangul ( um ) rectangle + -ar 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The town also has around a dozen emergency shelters, concrete rectangular boxes measuring three by six metres, close to certain public places.

From Barron's

He pulls a small rectangular package out of the pocket of his suit jacket and hands it to me.

From Literature

In the newest version of the detector, the metasurface that absorbs light was redesigned into a circular shape rather than a rectangular one.

From Science Daily

He had pulled a thread attached to a flat, rectangular piece of waffle-like material segregated into dozens of wonky-looking square tiles.

From BBC

The rest were just rectangular cutouts in the wall with bare mattresses.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.