scalene

[ skey-leen ]

adjective
  1. Geometry.

    • (of a cone or the like) having the axis inclined to the base.

    • (of a triangle) having three unequal sides.

  2. Anatomy. of or relating to a scalenus muscle.

Origin of scalene

1
1635–45; <Late Latin scalēnus<Greek skalēnós unequal

Words Nearby scalene

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scalene in a sentence

  • Of triangles there are two kinds; one having the opposite sides equal (isosceles), the other with unequal sides (scalene).

    Timaeus | Plato
  • The first solid is a regular pyramid, of which the base and sides are formed by four equilateral or twenty-four scalene triangles.

    Timaeus | Plato
  • Now of the two triangles, the isosceles has one form only; the scalene or unequal-sided has an infinite number.

    Timaeus | Plato
  • A scalene triangle abc might also be employed, or a tetrahedron.

  • The points we occupied respectively formed a scalene triangle.

British Dictionary definitions for scalene

scalene

/ (ˈskeɪliːn) /


adjective
  1. maths (of a triangle) having all sides of unequal length

  2. anatomy of or relating to any of the scalenus muscles

Origin of scalene

1
C17: from Late Latin scalēnus with unequal sides, from Greek skalēnos

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

Scientific definitions for scalene

scalene

[ skālēn′ ]


  1. Having three unequal sides, as a triangle that is neither equilateral nor isosceles.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.