right triangle

noun

: a triangle having a right angle see triangle illustration

Examples of right triangle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That is to say, each of their proofs demonstrates that the square of a right triangle’s longest side equals the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides. Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024 For example, Pythagorean triples (such as 3, 4 and 5), represent right triangles whose three vertices are all integer distances apart. Quanta Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024 Billiard tables shaped like acute and right triangles have periodic trajectories. Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024 In the early 1990s, Fred Holt at the University of Washington and Gregory Galperin and his collaborators at Moscow State University independently showed that every right triangle has periodic orbits. Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for right triangle 

Word History

First Known Use

1675, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of right triangle was in 1675

Dictionary Entries Near right triangle

Cite this Entry

“Right triangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right%20triangle. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

right triangle

noun
: a triangle having a right angle

More from Merriam-Webster on right triangle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!