What does "triangle" mean?
A polygon with three sides and three angles.
Triangle
/ˈtɹaɪˌæŋɡəl/ name, noun
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A polygon with three sides and three angles.
- Grammar: triangle is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: acute-angled triangle, adulterous affair, adultery, affair.
- Useful contrasts: circle, monogamy, octagon.
- Usage evidence: The sum of all the angles in a triangle equals 180 degrees.
How to use "triangle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "triangle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "triangle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "triangle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "triangle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "triangle" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acute-angled triangle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "triangle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A polygon with three sides and three angles.
"The wedge-shaped character was the triangle, the archaic Paleolithic sign of the vulva; the pubic triangle was at the end of the phallic stylus."
- 2 a percussion instrument consisting of a metal bar bent in the shape of an open triangle wordnet
- 3 A set square. Canada, US
- 4 any of various triangular drafting instruments used to draw straight lines at specified angles wordnet
- 5 A percussion instrument made by forming a metal rod into a triangular shape which is open at one angle. It is suspended from a string and hit with a metal bar to make a resonant sound.
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a three-sided polygon wordnet
- 7 A triangular piece of equipment used for gathering the balls into the formation required by the game being played.
- 8 something approximating the shape of a triangle wordnet
- 9 A love triangle.
"One of the writers' most pleasing inventions was to treat the triangle love story as comedy."
- 10 The structure of systems composed with three interrelated objects.
- 11 A draughtsman's square in the form of a right-angled triangle.
- 12 A frame formed of three poles stuck in the ground and united at the top, to which people were bound for corporal punishment. historical, plural-normally
"I was flogged in 1840. To this day I feel a pain in the chest from the triangles."
- 13 Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.
- 14 A triangular formation of railway tracks, with a curve on at least one side.
"After turning on the triangle at Jeumont, we set off light engine back to Aulnoye."
Proper Noun
- 1 A place in the United States:; The area comprising the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill in North Carolina. Used with "the" except when attributive.
"I moved to the Triangle two years ago."
- 2 A place in the United States:; A town in Broome County, New York.
- 3 A place in the United States:; A census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia.
- 4 A community in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, seemingly in Labrador.
- 5 A place in England:; A hamlet in Hewelsfield and Brockweir parish, Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire (OS grid ref SO5401).
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A place in England:; A suburb of Burntwood in Hammerwich parish, Lichfield district, Staffordshire (OS grid ref SK0507).
- 7 A place in England:; A small village south-west of Sowerby Bridge, Calderdale borough, West Yorkshire (OS grid ref SE0422).
- 8 A small town in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe.
- 9 Ellipsis of Bermuda Triangle. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The sum of all the angles in a triangle equals 180 degrees."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "triangle"?
Common synonyms include: acute-angled triangle, adulterous affair, adultery, affair, amour, battery.
How do you use "triangle" in a sentence?
The sum of all the angles in a triangle equals 180 degrees.
How do you pronounce "triangle"?
Pronounced /ˈtɹaɪˌæŋɡəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English triangle, from Old French triangle, from Latin triangulum, noun use of adjective triangulus (“three-cornered, having three angles”), from trēs (“three”) + angulus (“corner, angle”), equivalent to tri- + -angle.
Etymology 2
From triangle; in North Carolina from being a triangular region.