rectilinear

adjective rec·ti·lin·e·ar \ ˌrek-tə-ˈli-nē-ər \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of rectilinear

1 : moving in or forming a straight line

rectilinear motion

2 : characterized by straight lines

the rectilinear skyline of a modern city

3 : perpendicular 3

—

rectilinearity

play \ˌrek-tə-ˌli-nē-ˈer-ə-tē, -ˈa-rə-tē\ noun

—

rectilinearly

adverb

See rectilinear defined for English-language learners

rectilinear was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of rectilinear in a Sentence

the rectilinear skyline of a modern city

Recent Examples of rectilinear from the Web

Seemingly hauled up en masse, the forms are wired together and slapped onto a rectilinear steel support, like writhing refugees from a maritime disaster.

— julia couzens, sacbee, "A witty and deep showcase of Jewish artists' contributions to California art history | The Sacramento Bee," 6 Apr. 2018
Their rational, rectilinear creations, made of silver or pricey oak, won a following among imperial Vienna’s bourgeoisie, but perpetual cost overruns and the coming of war pushed the Wiener Werkstätte into decline.

— New York Times, "Art and Museums in NYC This Week," 14 Dec. 2017
As New York grew, the city stuck to this strictly rectilinear vision, and as a result the streets of New York north of Houston Street are still an orderly grid, entirely unlike the charming rabbit warrens of London and Paris.

— ken jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "If the World Was Mapped Using the Manhattan Grid System," 30 Oct. 2017
The population began to creep out into nearby middle-class neighborhoods like Bayside, where the schools were better and the relatively spacious houses sat on quiet streets with tidy, uniformly rectilinear front lawns.

— jay caspian kang, New York Times, "What a Fraternity Hazing Death Revealed About the Painful Search for an Asian-American Identity," 9 Aug. 2017
There are signs of Hans Hofmann’s push-pull forms and rectilinear compositions reminiscent of Myron Stout and Burgoyne Diller.

— roberta smith, martha schwendener, jason farago and will heinrich, New York Times, "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week," 25 May 2017
Those angled houses --along Bayou Road, for example -- were built on parcels aligned with old French long-lot plantations, which were later superimposed by a rectilinear urban grid.

— richard campanella, NOLA.com, "New Orleans 'Fort-prints': Odd angled properties are relics of city's fortified past," 10 May 2017
The wooden sculpture, glossy with apple-green paint, rests on the floor like a Brobdingnagian jigsaw puzzle, fragmented into thirteen rectilinear sections—a jazzy riff on the modernist grid.

— The New Yorker, "Jeremy Moon," 31 Mar. 2017
When rating photos in a circle-themed mission, the buttons are circular, while the square mission has a rectilinear motif.

— joseph flaherty, WIRED, "A Photo App That Teaches You to Be More Perceptive," 13 Aug. 2014

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

Origin and Etymology of rectilinear

Late Latin rectilineus, from Latin rectus + linea line

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First Known Use: 1651

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RECTILINEAR Defined for English Language Learners

rectilinear

adjective

Definition of rectilinear for English Language Learners

: made with straight lines : having many straight lines

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Britannica English: Translation of rectilinear for Arabic speakers

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rectilinear

Definition of rectilinear

rectilinearity

rectilinearly

rectilinear was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of rectilinear in a Sentence

Recent Examples of rectilinear from the Web

Origin and Etymology of rectilinear

RECTILINEAR Defined for English Language Learners

rectilinear

Definition of rectilinear for English Language Learners

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Definition of rectilinear

rectilinearity

rectilinearly

rectilinear was our Word of the Day on 09/27/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of rectilinear in a Sentence

Recent Examples of rectilinear from the Web

Origin and Etymology of rectilinear

RECTILINEAR Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of rectilinear for English Language Learners

Learn More about rectilinear

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