rectangle
noun
Simple meaning
A parallelogram with four right angles.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehktangguhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɛktæŋɡəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
geometry
A parallelogram with four right angles
geometry
Any quadrilateral having opposing sides parallel and four right angles.
nontechnical
Such a quadrilateral that is oblong (longer than it is wide): one that is not regular (equilateral), that is, any except a square.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A parallelogram with four right angles
Used this way, rectangle is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rectangle
- “The window was shaped like a perfect rectangle, wide and tall.”noun
Share your sentence
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “rectangle” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.