Meaning & use
elliptical shape
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Meanings
nouncountablemathematics
A smooth, closed oval form, like a circle stretched in one direction, with two points inside it called foci.
Grammar: Often described with of or in: an object of elliptical shape.
Patterns
- in an elliptical shape
- of elliptical shape
The racetrack has an elliptical shape rather than a perfect circle.
The pond had an elliptical shape, longer than it was wide.
Draw an elliptical shape by tracing around two pins and a loop of string.
nouncountabletechnical
The oval path that a planet or other object follows as it orbits something.
Grammar: Astronomy use: the orbit takes an elliptical shape.
Patterns
- take an elliptical shape
Each planet's orbit has an elliptical shape, not a perfect circle.
Comets travel in a very stretched elliptical shape.
Kepler showed that the Earth's path has an elliptical shape.
nouncountable
Any rounded form that is longer in one direction, used loosely to describe objects such as leaves, tables or windows.
Grammar: A general use; designers say oval more often.
Patterns
- an elliptical shape
The leaves of the plant have an elliptical shape.
The designer chose a table with an elliptical shape to fit the narrow room.
The spaceship in the film had a sleek elliptical shape.
Word forms
| plural | elliptical shapes |
|---|
Common combinations
- have an elliptical shape
- The mirror has an elliptical shape.
- perfectly elliptical shape
- The garden was a perfectly elliptical shape.
- elongated elliptical shape
- The seeds have an elongated elliptical shape.
- elliptical shape of the orbit
- The elliptical shape of the orbit explains the seasons on that planet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- oval
- Oval is the everyday word and covers egg-like shapes, while elliptical shape is more exact and implies a regular mathematical curve.
- ellipse
- Ellipse names the geometric curve itself, whereas elliptical shape describes a thing that looks like it.
- ovoid
- Ovoid is a technical word for an egg-shaped three-dimensional form, not a flat shape.
Opposites
Word family
- ellipse noun
- the closed curve of an oval
- elliptical adjective
- shaped like an ellipse; also, using very few words
- ellipsis noun
- the omission of words, or the three dots that mark it
- eccentricity noun
- a measure of how stretched an ellipse is
Commonly confused: elliptical shape or ellipsis? elliptical shape or elliptic?
elliptical shape vs ellipsis
An ellipsis is the omission of words or the mark of three dots, while an elliptical shape is an oval form.
elliptical shape vs elliptic
Elliptic is a variant used in mathematics; elliptical is more common in general writing.
Practice
A planet's orbit around its star usually has an ___ rather than a perfect circle.
Choose one answer.
Orbits are stretched ovals, called ellipses. The other shapes have corners or sides that orbits do not have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “elliptical shape”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.