Pronunciation: /ˈsiː.kənt/
noun a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points
A1 A secant is a line that intersects a circle at two points.
A2 In geometry, a secant is a line that intersects a curve at two or more points.
B1 The secant of an angle in trigonometry is the reciprocal of the cosine.
B2 When graphing a trigonometric function, the secant line can help determine the behavior of the function.
C1 The concept of secant is used extensively in calculus to analyze the behavior of functions.
C2 Advanced mathematical analysis often involves the use of secants to approximate the behavior of curves.
adjective relating to or denoting a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points
A1 The secant line intersects the circle at two points.
A2 In geometry, a secant line is a line that intersects a circle at two points.
B1 The secant angle of a triangle is equal to the reciprocal of the cosine of the angle.
B2 The secant function is the reciprocal of the cosine function.
C1 The secant plane of a cone intersects the cone along a straight line.
C2 In calculus, the secant method is used to find the root of a function by drawing secant lines.
formal The secant of an angle in a right triangle is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the adjacent side.
informal To find the secant of an angle, just divide the length of the hypotenuse by the length of the adjacent side.
slang If you want to get the secant, just do hypotenuse divided by adjacent side.
figurative In life, the secant represents the connection between two different paths, showing how they intersect and relate to each other.