subtend

verb

sub·​tend səb-ˈtend 

subtended; subtending; subtends

transitive verb

1

a

: to be opposite to and extend from one side to the other of

a hypotenuse subtends a right angle

b

: to fix the angular extent of with respect to a fixed point or object taken as the vertex

a central angle subtended by an arc

the angle subtended at the eye by an object of given width and a fixed distance away

c

: to determine the measure of by marking off the endpoints of

a chord subtends an arc

2

a

: to underlie so as to include

b

: to occupy an adjacent and usually lower position to and often so as to embrace or enclose

a bract that subtends a flower

Examples of subtend in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Before 1967, political borders, however provisional, subtended cultural ones: sovereignty derived from international recognition and the consent of the governed. —Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 5 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Latin subtendere to stretch beneath, from sub- + tendere to stretch — more at thin

First Known Use

circa 1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a