polar coordinate

Definition of polar coordinate

: either of two numbers that locate a point in a plane by its distance from a fixed point on a line and the angle this line makes with a fixed line

Examples of polar coordinate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Leonardo applied a mapping technique developed by Florentine humanist Leon Battista Alberti, who proposed that a town can be mapped using polar coordinates. — National Geographic, "Leonardo da Vinci transformed mapping from art to science," 21 May 2020 Critical mathematical applications such as Fourier transforms, Riemann zeta functions, Gaussian distributions, roots of unity, integrating over polar coordinates and pretty much anything involving trigonometry employs pi. — Randyn Charles Bartholomew, Scientific American, "Let's Use Tau--It's Easier Than Pi," 25 June 2014

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'polar coordinate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Polar coordinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polar%20coordinate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2020.

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