Elliptical
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An elliptical galaxy.
- 2 An elliptical trainer.
- 1 In a shape of, or reminding of, an ellipse; oval.
"Having admitted that the projectile was describing an orbit around the moon, this orbit must necessarily be elliptical; science proves that it must be so."
- 2 Of, or showing ellipsis; having a word or words omitted.
"If he is sometimes elliptical and obscure, it is because he has so much to tell us."
- 3 Concise, condensed.
"Browning's dark and elliptical mode of speech, like his love of the grotesque, was simply a characteristic of his, a trick of his temperament, and had little or nothing to do with whether what he was expressing was profound or superficial."
- 4 Elliptic. rare
- 1 characterized by extreme economy of expression or omission of superfluous elements wordnet
- 2 rounded like an egg wordnet
Example
More examples"The orbit around Sirius is elliptical."
Etymology
From elliptic + -al, from Ancient Greek ἐλλειπτικός (elleiptikós), from ἐλλείπω (elleípō, “I leave out, omit”).
Related phrases
More for "elliptical"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.