as in oval
a shape that resembles a flattened circle
The teacher drew an ellipse on the chalkboard that intended to illustrate the moon's orbit around the Earth.
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Recent Examples of ellipse
Since the moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle but rather an ellipse or oval, the moon’s distance from Earth can vary in its orbit, but not all that much.
—
Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 5 Oct. 2025
These can be defined mathematically, with the key factor being the eccentricity: how much the ellipse deviates form a circle.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 25 July 2025
The Oakley Ellipse 50th Anniversary pair, designed to reflect the ellipse of the Oakley logo, retains the brand's futurist aesthetic with the lens shape and curve, known at Oakley as the PhysioMorphic Geometry.
—Cassell Ferere, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
The moon’s orbital path around Earth is a slight ellipse, so there’s a near-point (perigee) and a far-point (apogee) every month.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ellipse
Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 5 Oct. 2025
These can be defined mathematically, with the key factor being the eccentricity: how much the ellipse deviates form a circle.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 25 July 2025
The Oakley Ellipse 50th Anniversary pair, designed to reflect the ellipse of the Oakley logo, retains the brand's futurist aesthetic with the lens shape and curve, known at Oakley as the PhysioMorphic Geometry.
—Cassell Ferere, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
The moon’s orbital path around Earth is a slight ellipse, so there’s a near-point (perigee) and a far-point (apogee) every month.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for ellipse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ellipse
Noun
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The unique course has four holes inside the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.—
Megan duBois,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
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There, an understated reception area — walls lined by photos that tell the story of the stadium — will serve as the entryway to a massive indoor space with a 360-degree bar that mimics the oval of the Rose Bowl itself.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
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Like all tasting menus, the Journey has its ritual flourishes, some of them twee (such as the servers presenting a basket of farm eggs and an arrangement of grains just before the courses featuring those ingredients) and others quite charming.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
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After laying a single egg inside the female puts some paralyzed caterpillars and beetle larvae which the larva will eat.—
Pamm Cooper,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
Noun
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The file, prepared by the Pentagon, reported that teams of agents had seen various orbs and strange figures in the sky or just off the ground.—
Stefan Becket,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
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The paneled glass on the orb of the Arhaus sconce looks like a flower bud, curving from an antique brass stem.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ellipse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ellipse. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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