polygon

noun

poly·​gon ˈpä-lē-ˌgän How to pronounce polygon (audio)
1
: a closed plane figure bounded by straight lines
2
: a closed figure on a sphere bounded by arcs of great circles
polygonal adjective
polygonally adverb

Examples of polygon in a Sentence

Pentagons, hexagons, and octagons are all kinds of polygons.
Recent Examples on the Web For decades, nobody could come up with a polygon that had the same property. Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024 The hat can be regarded as a polygon with edges of length 1 and √3 (where two consecutive edges of length 1 form one longer edge). Craig S. Kaplan, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2023 In other areas, the rock happens to stick up through the red dust as flat polygons resembling pavers in a garden, or as taller, boulder-sized blocks. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2023 Other areas had polygons to trace, 3D shapes to play with, simple abacuses, pens and pencils and paper, and so on. Andrew McAfee, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2023 Doubling down on this conundrum, the next year Ruscha painted a portrait of the collage on a six-foot canvas, replicating the blue rectangle, green polygon, tattered Orphan Annie, white space, serif letters, befuddling comma. Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023 The simplest tilings are made of identical polygons with sides of equal length and angles of equal measure joined full edge to full edge. Quanta Magazine, 30 Oct. 2023 This shows that every polygon with area A is scissors congruent to every other polygon with area A. Patrick Honner, Quanta Magazine, 21 Nov. 2022 Glasshouse Media In a callback to the living room windows, the primary suite forms a polygon and, at 231 square feet (according to the listing sheet), is one of the largest spaces in the house. John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polygon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin polygōnum, borrowed from Greek polýgōnon, from poly- poly- + -gōnon -gon

First Known Use

circa 1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of polygon was circa 1560

Dictionary Entries Near polygon

Cite this Entry

“Polygon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polygon. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

polygon

noun
poly·​gon ˈpäl-i-ˌgän How to pronounce polygon (audio)
: a geometric figure that is closed, that lies in a plane, and whose edges are all straight lines
triangles, squares, and pentagons are all polygons
polygonal adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on polygon

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