Standard Lemma guide

secant

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • sē'kənt
  • /ˈsiːkənt/
  • rhymes with -iːkənt
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

That cuts or divides.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

In a right triangle, the reciprocal of the cosine of an angle. Symbol: sec

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: mathematics, sciences, trigonometry

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sec

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: trigonometric function, circular function

5

noun

Meaning 5

a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: straight line

History

Etymology

From Latin secāns, present participle of secō (“to cut”).

Across languages

Translations

57 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: секателна (sekatelna) — in geometry
  • Chinese Mandarin: 割線 /割线 (gēxiàn) — in geometry
  • Czech: sečna — in geometry
  • Danish: sekant — in geometry
  • Finnish: leikkaaja — in geometry
  • Finnish: sekantti — in geometry
  • French: sécante — in geometry
  • German: Sekante — in geometry
  • Greek: τέμνουσα (témnousa) — in geometry
  • Hindi: छेदक रेखा (chedak rekhā) — in geometry
  • Hungarian: szelő — in geometry
  • Icelandic: sniðill — in geometry
  • Ido: sekanto — in geometry
  • Japanese: 割線 (kassen) — in geometry
  • Kannada: ಛೇದಕ (chēdaka) — in geometry
  • Macedonian: пресечка (presečka) — in geometry
  • Polish: sieczna — in geometry
  • Portuguese: secante — in geometry
  • Punjabi: ਛੇਦਕ ਰੇਖਾ (chedak rekhā) — in geometry
  • Romanian: secantă — in geometry
  • Russian: секу́щая (sekúščaja) — in geometry
  • Spanish: secante — in geometry
  • Tagalog: tangab — in geometry
  • Thai: เส้นตัด — in geometry
  • Turkish: sekant — in geometry
  • Ukrainian: січна́ (sičná) — in geometry
  • Vietnamese: cát tuyến — in geometry
  • Afrikaans: sekans — in trigonometry
  • Afrikaans: sekanse — in trigonometry
  • Arabic: قَاطِع (qāṭiʕ) — in trigonometry
  • Bulgarian: секанс (sekans) — in trigonometry
  • Catalan: secant — in trigonometry
  • Cebuano: kaliras — in trigonometry
  • Chinese Mandarin: 正割 (zhènggē) — in trigonometry
  • Czech: sekans — in trigonometry
  • Finnish: sekantti — in trigonometry
  • French: sécante — in trigonometry
  • German: Sekans — in trigonometry
  • Greek: τέμνουσα (témnousa) — in trigonometry
  • Hungarian: szekáns — in trigonometry
  • Ido: sekanto — in trigonometry
  • Italian: secante — in trigonometry
  • Japanese: セカント (sekanto) — in trigonometry
  • Japanese: 正割 (seikatsu) — in trigonometry
  • Khmer: សេកង់ (seekɑng) — in trigonometry
  • Macedonian: пресечка (presečka) — in trigonometry
  • Polish: sekans — in trigonometry
  • Portuguese: secante — in trigonometry
  • Romanian: secantă — in trigonometry
  • Russian: се́канс (sékans) — in trigonometry
  • Spanish: secante — in trigonometry
  • Tagalog: sekway — in trigonometry
  • Tamil: இணைச்செவ்வளை நேர்மாற்று (iṇaiccevvaḷai nērmāṟṟu) — in trigonometry
  • Thai: ซีแคนต์ — in trigonometry
  • Turkish: sekant — in trigonometry
  • Ukrainian: се́канс (sékans) — in trigonometry
  • Vietnamese: hàm sec — in trigonometry
Real reading context

secant in complete knowledge articles