polygon

noun

poly·​gon ˈpä-lē-ˌgän 

1

: a closed plane figure bounded by straight lines

2

: a closed figure on a sphere bounded by arcs of great circles

polygonal

pə-ˈli-gə-nᵊl 

adjective

polygonally

pə-ˈli-gə-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of polygon in a Sentence

Pentagons, hexagons, and octagons are all kinds of polygons.

Recent Examples on the Web

His first conjecture was that the answer is a smoothed polygon with straight edges and corners rounded with hyperbolas. —Quanta Magazine, 28 June 2024

The result of this is a very general idea, a polygon, of where the contamination is. —IEEE Spectrum, 29 May 2024

Enlarge / Remember, folks inside those polygons: If your housing feels too expensive, spend less money on resource consumption. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 13 June 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, 1 Jan. 2024

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

Phrases Containing polygon

• spherical polygon

Kids Definition

polygon

noun

poly·​gon ˈpäl-i-ˌgän 

: 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

pə-ˈlig-ən-ᵊl 

adjective