tangent
noun /ˈtændʒənt/
/ˈtændʒənt/
Idioms - enlarge image(geometry
几何 切线 - The cart track branches off at a tangent.
大车轨道在切线处分叉。
- The cart track branches off at a tangent.
- (abbreviation tan)(mathematics
数学 正切
词源late 16th cent. (in sense (2) and as an adjective): from Latin tangent- ‘touching’, from the verb tangere.
Idioms
fly/go off at a tangent (British English)
(North American English go off on a tangent)
- (informal) to suddenly start saying or doing something that does not seem to be connected to what has gone before
突然转换话题；突然改变行动 - He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.
他从来不坚持要点，而是一直离题。 - Laura’s mind went off at a tangent.
劳拉心不在焉。
- He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.