ellipse
noun
el·lipse
| \ i-ˈlips
, e-\
, e-\
Definition of ellipse
Illustration of ellipse
ellipse 1b: F, F' foci; P, P', P'' any point on the curve; FP + PF' = FP'' + P''F' = FP' + P'F'
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Examples of ellipse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Any straight line drawn from one focus to the circumference of the ellipse is reflected to the other focus. — Quanta Magazine, "Solution: ‘Is Infinity Real?’," 30 June 2016 An ellipse is a geometric figure that has two foci. — Quanta Magazine, "Solution: ‘Is Infinity Real?’," 30 June 2016 The ellipse, heretofore so carefully constructed, appears doomed. — Sharon Mizota, latimes.com, "‘Migrant Caravan’ isn’t so different from ‘Disco!’ in this artist’s hands," 1 July 2019 The circle became an ellipse, expanding east, pushed by the gust. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "Charred and Burned: The School That Turns Firefighters Into Fire Detectives," 4 Oct. 2018 Imagine seeing a tiny sliver of a line and being asked to draw the ellipse that line was a part of — that was the mathematical challenge. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "How Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss rediscovered a lost dwarf planet," 30 Apr. 2018 The designers at Hargreaves, Mary Margaret Jones and Brett Seamans, describe their composition as two interlocking squares, bisected by an ellipse. — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, "Love Park was supposed to be the People's Park. How did it end up as a granite Sahara?," 26 Apr. 2018 The space telescope will fly in a large ellipse that takes it out beyond the moon and then in close to the Earth to downlink its data. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Successfully Launches TESS Space Telescope (Updated)," 18 Apr. 2018 It is laid out as a geometric ellipse, according to a study by mathematician Clark Kimberling, a professor at the University of Evansville. — Martin Weil, Washington Post, "Moon will be putting on a show early Wednesday," 29 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ellipse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for ellipse
ellipse
noun
English Language Learners Definition of ellipse
: a shape that resembles a flattened circle
See the full definition for ellipse in the English Language Learners Dictionary
ellipse
noun
el·lipse
| \ i-ˈlips
\
\
Kids Definition of ellipse
: a shape that looks like a flattened circle
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