subtend
Geometry. to extend under or be opposite to: a chord subtending an arc.
Botany. (of a leaf, bract, etc.) to occur beneath or close to.
to form or mark the outline or boundary of.
Origin of subtend
1Words Nearby subtend
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use subtend in a sentence
For this purpose the condenser should subtend as large an angle as possible at the source of light.
Leverrier said it might be recognized by its disk, which, moreover, would subtend a certain angle.
An Introduction to the History of Science | Walter LibbyAnd two sides of the ordinate quinquangle doe subtend 2/5 of the same.
The Way To Geometry | Peter RamusUndersea, submarine; underspan, subtend; underslinking, subterfuge.
An Outline of English Speech-craft | William BarnesIn like manner the two pale are bracteoles which subtend the flower proper.
Grasses | H. Marshall Ward
British Dictionary definitions for subtend
/ (səbˈtɛnd) /
geometry to be opposite to and delimit (an angle or side)
(of a bract, stem, etc) to have (a bud or similar part) growing in its axil
to mark off
to underlie; be inherent in
Origin of subtend
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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