Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having the shape of a rectangle: Describes something with four sides and four right angles (90-degree angles), where opposite sides are parallel and equal in length.
   • Relating to or forming a right angle: Describes something that meets or is arranged at a 90-degree angle.

Usage

• The word "rectangular" is used to describe the shape or geometric properties of an object, area, or coordinate system.
• It is a descriptive adjective and is typically placed before a noun (e.g., a rectangular table) or after a linking verb (e.g., The room is rectangular).

Examples

• Describing Shape:
  • The architect designed a large, rectangular window for the living room.
  • Most smartphones have a rectangular screen.
• Describing Angles or Systems:
  • The city's streets are laid out in a rectangular grid.
  • The garden was divided into neat rectangular plots.

Advanced Usage

• "Rectangular coordinates": A system for locating a point in a plane by its distances from two perpendicular lines (axes), also known as Cartesian coordinates.
  • The data was plotted using a rectangular coordinate system.
• "Rectangular prism": A solid (three-dimensional) object that has six faces that are all rectangles.
  • A shoebox is a common example of a rectangular prism.

Variants and Related Words

• Rectangle (n): A plane figure with four straight sides and four right angles, especially one with unequal adjacent sides.
  • The formula for the area of a rectangle is length times width.
• Rectangularity (n): The quality or state of being rectangular.
  • The rectangularity of the building's design is very striking.

Synonyms

• Oblong: An elongated shape, typically a rectangle that is not a square. (Note: "Oblong" is often used more loosely than the strictly geometric "rectangular".)
• Orthogonal: Relating to or involving right angles; perpendicular. (This is a more technical synonym, especially in mathematics and engineering.)

Antonyms

• Round: Shaped like a circle or cylinder.
• Circular: Having the form of a circle.
• Irregular: Not having a regular or symmetrical shape.

Adjective

1. having a set of mutually perpendicular axes; meeting at right angles
   • wind and sea may displace the ship's center of gravity along three orthogonal axes
   • a rectangular Cartesian coordinate system
2. having four right angles
   • a rectangular figure twice as long as it is wide