angle

Pluralangles

Formsangles, angling, angled

1. 1
   nouncountable

   The space between two lines meeting at a point, or between two surfaces meeting along a line, or the figure they form, usually measured in degrees.

   The ladder makes an angle of about seventy-five degrees with the ground.

   Surveyors measure angles precisely when mapping property boundaries.

   UsageAn angle of 45 degrees, the angle between two lines; at an angle means slanting.

   Note

   The word names the size of the opening as well as the figure: the angle between two lines might be π/4 radians, or 45 degrees. Because the measure is arc length over radius, the radian is its natural unit. The solid angle's counterpart, area over radius squared, is counted in steradians. Optics uses the word this way when a lens takes in light "from a wide range of angles." Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • π/4 radians equals 45 degrees. en.wikipedia.org
   • Radian measure is circular arc length divided by radius; the radian is the coherent unit for plane angle. bipm.org
   • Solid angle in steradians is the intercepted spherical surface area divided by the sphere's squared radius. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted wording describes lenses receiving light over a wide range of angles. americanscientist.org
2. 2
   nouncountable

   A particular way of looking at or approaching a matter, such as the aspect a news story chooses to emphasize.

   Her background in finance gave her a useful angle on the merger talks.

   From a historical angle, the treaty looks far less generous.

   UsageSee something from another angle, or have an angle on a topic.

   Similarperspective, viewpoint, slant, standpoint, approach

   Note

   Two constructions carry it. One is seeing something from another angle, the way David Quammen turns to the natural world through the search for the next pandemic. The other puts a noun in front to name the interest, as when a pitch fails for lacking a women's angle. That second, pitching use is the newsroom's: a story's angle is the aspect it plays up. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • David Quammen examines the natural world through an investigation of the next human pandemic. en.wiktionary.org
   • A published hypothetical pitching example describes rejection because an idea lacks a women's angle. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To place, point, or turn something so it is slanted rather than straight, or to move or run in a slanting or diagonal direction.

   The photographer angled the lights to soften the shadows on the model's face.

   Angle the antenna toward the city for a stronger signal.

   UsageOften in the passive (the roof is angled at 15 degrees) or with a direction: angle the lamp down.

   Similartilt, slant, aim, point, direct

   Oppositestraighten

   Note

   The verb grew from the noun in Middle English, where anglen meant "to meet at an angle, converge."

4. 4
   catch fishverbintransitive

   To fish by means of a hook attached to a line.

   He angles for bass from the same dock every Saturday morning.

   Visitors may angle in the stocked pond for a small fee.

   UsageYou angle for trout or angle in a pond; the fish comes after for.

   Similarfish

   Note

   The verb that goes with the old fishhook noun comes from Middle English anglen, literally "to fish-hook." Where fish is plain, angle names the method: hook and line, not net or trap. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The fishing verb is associated with the fishhook noun and comes from Middle English anglen, literally to fish-hook. en.wiktionary.org
   • Angling uses a hook and line rather than a net or trap. en.wikipedia.org
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A corner or sharp projecting point where two edges, lines, or walls meet; also, a fragment with sharp edges.

   Her sleeve caught on a sharp angle of the iron gate.

   Snow piled up in the angle between the porch and the house.

   Similarcorner, point

   Note

   The sharp, outward corner, the kind that cuts or snags. In Dryden's version of Ovid's tale of Acis and Galatea (1693), "though but an angle reached him of the stone" means that only an edge of the thrown stone struck. The same word can name an inside corner where two walls meet, but this angle sticks out at you. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Dryden translated Ovid's tale of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea. en.wikipedia.org
   • The translation was first published in Examen Poeticum in 1693. wellcomecollection.org
   • The quotation is accurate; in context, only a corner of the stone struck Acis, crushing him. gutenberg.org

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