You searched for: “tangent”
tangent (adjective)
Making contact at a single point or along a line; touching but not intersecting.
This entry is located in the following units: -ent (page 9) tang-, tact-, tast-, ting-, -tig -tag, -teg- (page 6)
tangent (s) (noun), tangents (pl)
1. A line that touches a circle, surface, or sphere at just one point.
2. A sudden digression or change of course: "The lawyer went off on a tangent during the courtroom argument."

"Gerardo went off on a tangent about what happened to her when her car was hit from behind by another car."

This entry is located in the following unit: tang-, tact-, tast-, ting-, -tig -tag, -teg- (page 6)
tangent, tangent
tangent (TAN jent) (noun)
Something that is only slightly or indirectly related to the original subject: "The student went off on a tangent about what happened during his trip to London."
tangent (TAN jent) (noun)
In geometry, a straight line forming an angle or a straight line that intersects the circle or sphere in one and only one point: "The math teacher demonstrated how a tangent touches another curve or surface but does not cross or intersect it."

I know I should be studying geometry; especially, the lesson on the tangent and the hypotenuse of the triangle, but my mind seems to have gone off on a tangent because I was day dreaming about going swimming at the beach.

This entry is located in the following unit: Confusing Words Clarified: Group T; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. + (page 1)