Meanings
present singular third person subtends · participle present subtending · participle past subtended · past subtended
- alsotransitivemathematicsTo extend or stretch opposite something; to be part of a straight or curved line that is opposite to and delimits an angle.
A hypotenuse subtends the right angle of a right triangle.
2 more examples
An arc measuring about 0.75 meters on a circle with a radius of 1 meter subtends an angle of about 43°.
[…] trillions of bacteria, each equally an individual, which are found in a person’s gut, his mouth, his scalp, his skin and all of the crevices and orifices that subtend from his body’s surface.
2012 August 16, “Me, myself, us”, in The Economist, issue - transitivemathematicsTo form the central angle of a circle underneath an arc.
The points A and B on the circumference form the arc AB, which subtends the central angle θ.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekὑποτείνω“to subtend”
- Latinsubtendere
- Englishsubtend
From Latin subtendere, from sub (“under”) + tendere (“to stretch, extend”), itself a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ὑποτείνω (hupoteínō, “to subtend”), from which hypotenuse also derives. See tend.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian принадлежа
- принадлежа (prinadleža)to extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
French sous-tendre
- sous-tendreto extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
German sich erstrecken gegenüber von, gegenüberliegen
- sich erstrecken gegenüber vonto extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
- gegenüberliegento extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
- abschneidento extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
- begrenzento extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
Hungarian bezár
- bezárto extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
Italian sottendere
- sottendereto extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
Russian стя́гивать
- стя́гивать (stjágivatʹ)to use an angle to delimit part of a straight or curved line
Turkish karşılık gelmek
- karşılık gelmekto extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle
Vietnamese chắn (cung)
- chắn (cung)to use an angle to delimit part of a straight or curved line
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with subtend
Cite this entry
subtend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subtend
“subtend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subtend. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subtend,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subtend.
Source: subtend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.