angle
noun
angle
1 American
[ang-guhl]
/ ˈæŋ gəl /
noun
-
Geometry.
-
the space within two lines or three or more planes diverging from a common point, or within two planes diverging from a common line.
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the figure so formed.
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the amount of rotation needed to bring one line or plane into coincidence with another, generally measured in radians or in degrees, minutes, and seconds, as in 12° 10prime; 30″, which is read as 12 degrees, 10 minutes, and 30 seconds.
-
-
an angular projection; a projecting corner.
the angles of a building.
-
a viewpoint; standpoint.
He looked at the problem only from his own angle.
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Journalism.
-
the point of view from which copy is written, especially when the copy is intended to interest a particular audience.
The financial editor added a supplementary article from the investor's angle.
-
one aspect of an event, problem, subject, etc..
The accountant emphasized the tax angle of the leasing arrangement.
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Movies, Photography. angle shot.
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Informal. a secret motive.
She's been too friendly lately—what's her angle?
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Astrology. any of the four interceptions of the equatorial circle by the two basic axes, the horizon and the meridian: commonly identified by the compass directions.
verb (used with object)
angled,
angling
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to move or bend in an angle.
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to set, fix, direct, or adjust at an angle.
to angle a spotlight.
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Journalism. to write or edit in such a way as to appeal to a particular audience; slant.
She angled her column toward teenagers.
verb (used without object)
angled,
angling
-
to turn sharply in a different direction.
The road angles to the right.
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to move or go in angles or at an angle.
The trout angled downstream.
idioms
angle
2
American
[ang-guhl]
/ ˈæŋ gəl /
verb (used without object)
angled,
angling
-
to fish with hook and line.
-
to attempt to get something by sly or artful means; fish.
to angle for a compliment.
noun
Angle
3
American
[ang-guhl]
/ ˈæŋ gəl /
noun
Angle
1
British
/ ˈæŋɡəl /
noun
angle
2
British
/ ˈæŋɡəl /
verb
-
to fish with a hook and line
-
(often foll by for) to attempt to get
he angled for a compliment
noun
angle
3
British
/ ˈæŋɡəl /
noun
-
the space between two straight lines that diverge from a common point or between two planes that extend from a common line
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the shape formed by two such lines or planes
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the extent to which one such line or plane diverges from another, measured in degrees or radians
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an angular projection or recess; corner
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standpoint; point of view
look at the question from another angle
the angle of a newspaper article
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informal a selfish or devious motive or purpose
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See angle iron
verb
-
to move in or bend into angles or an angle
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(tr) to produce (an article, statement, etc) with a particular point of view
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(tr) to present, direct, or place at an angle
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(intr) to turn or bend in a different direction
the path angled sharply to the left
angle
Scientific
/ ăng′gəl /
-
A geometric figure formed by two lines that begin at a common point or by two planes that begin at a common line.
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The space between such lines or planes, measured in degrees.
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See also acute angle obtuse angle right angle
Etymology
Origin of angle1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin angulus, akin to uncus “bent” and Greek ankýlos “crooked, curved”; cf. ancylo- ( def. ),
Origin of angle2
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun angel, angle, angul, Old English angel, angul; cognate with Frisian, Dutch angel, Old Saxon, Old High German angul, German Angel, Old Norse ǫngull; Greek ankýlos “bent, curved,” Sanskrit aṅkuśá- “hook, fishhook”; akin to Old English anga “a sting,” Old High German ango, Latin uncus “hook, barb,” Greek ónkos “hook, barb of an arrow”; the verb is derivative of the noun; relation, if any, to Latin angulus angle 1 not clear
Origin of Angle3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin Anglus (plural Anglī ) source of Old English Engle (plural) “the English,” variant of Engle, the name of a tribe that lived in modern-day Angeln (so named from its shape), in Schleswig; akin to angle 1; see English ( def. )
Explanation
Remember all those pesky geometry classes in high school? Then you'll remember measuring the angle or space between two intersecting lines in degrees. If you recall that a right angle measures ninety degrees, give yourself a bonus. Angle can also mean a biased way of looking at or presenting something. Talk radio stations, for example, often discuss current events with a "political angle." On a far more peaceful note, to angle also means simply to fish, both in the literal sense of trying to catch a fish on a hook or in the metaphorical sense of trying to subtly obtain something without being seen to do so directly, as in, "I'm going to angle for a promotion at work."
Vocabulary lists containing angle
Middle School Geometry, List 1
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The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 1
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Engineering - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Adjusting these phases changes the angle at which the array releases light, making it possible to steer the beam without moving any physical components.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
From the angle just inside the area, his right-foot curling drive into the top corner gave Emiliano Martinez no chance.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
On the seventh pitch, he saw something he could drive — 416 feet at a 30-degree launch angle, to be exact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
In their 2021 book Peril, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa uncover a broader angle on Graham’s ponying up to power.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
She squinted against the burning midsummer late-afternoon sun that glinted in at a hard angle through the window.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
“Real life is happening on the ground,” Angle added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Familiar unveiled at the event is still an early prototype, so Angle isn’t disclosing its price or availability, or even how much the final product will resemble its current look.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Angle and his team call it the Familiar—the same term witches use for their supernatural animal companions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
“They could have built her in their garage,” veteran Texas Democratic operative Matt Angle said.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2026
The others may walk free for a while, until we come nearer to our dwellings, down in Egladil, in the Angle between the waters.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
It’s bold, heavily angled and has a short shelf life?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Robinson, from round the wicket, angled the ball in, then nipped it away off the surface and up the Lord's slope.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Humans can understand how lighting changes surface details, like how angled lighting reveals texture but reduces visible color.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
Arizona-based Awake Window & Door is one client that buys long, angled pieces of aluminum from a Hydro plant in Oregon to make frames for large windows and glass walls used in luxury homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
I brought up the rear of our group, tailing Ma, with my elbows angled up and out to prevent her from being jostled as she moved timidly through the crush.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
But some of the tech moguls angling to become our AI overlords aren’t like you and me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
If Martinez played to left centre-back Mings, Kolo Muani pressed intensely while angling his run to block the pass into Maatsen.
From BBC ● May 4, 2026
The prediction markets have spent a lot of energy of late angling to convince people that they are not the complete and total Wild West that they have often appeared to be.
From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2026
Mobileye is also angling for a presence in India, the world’s third-biggest car market, where it sees “significant potential for growth” for advanced driving software.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026
Elsewhere teams of slaves were raising ramps of stone and sand beneath their mangonels and scorpions, angling them upward at the sky, the better to defend the camp should the black dragon return.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.