rectilinear
Americanadjective
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forming a straight line.
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formed by straight lines.
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characterized by straight lines.
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moving in a straight line.
adjective
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in, moving in, or characterized by a straight line or lines
the rectilinear propagation of light
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consisting of, bounded by, or formed by a straight line or lines
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Relating to, consisting of, or moving in a straight line or lines.
Other Word Forms
- rectilinearly adverb
Etymology
Origin of rectilinear
1650–60; < Late Latin rēctilīne ( us ) ( rēcti- recti- + līne ( a ) line 1 + -us adj. suffix) + -ar 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lowry’s rectilinear buildings suggest immobility beyond time, and urban orderliness without elegance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Although rectilinear movement works well on flat ground, a burrowing movement “has to go all the way around the body” simply because the same friction exists on all sides of a creature.
From Slate • Mar. 8, 2024
The brightly lighted curve visually erased the sharp, angled edge that made any rectilinear painting into a figure standing against the wall’s ground.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2023
Inside Notre-Dame it is still a futuristic film décor - a towering mass of rectilinear metal scaffolding set against the curves and arches of the ancient Gothic stone.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2023
The pyramid and the rest of the city are oriented on a rectilinear grid 15° 25” from true north, a direction that may have aligned with the cave mouth.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.