Meaning & use
Osculate
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To kiss, or, in mathematics, to touch a curve or surface at a point so as to share the same tangent.
See it in a sentence
The old-fashioned wedding invitation asked guests not to osculate the bride until the toast.
The two curves osculate at the origin, sharing a common tangent line there.
A note on using this word
A formal or humorous synonym for 'kiss' in everyday use, but a precise technical term in geometry describing curves that touch closely.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
Mathematics: to touch a curve at a point with the closest possible degree of contact.
An osculating circle approximates a curve's curvature at a given point.
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