angles

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of angle.

   The two angles of the triangle add up to ninety degrees.

   Reporters covered the scandal from several competing angles.

   Note

   A regular -s plural that carries every branch of the noun, from the measurable figure to the reporter's way into a story. In geometry the plural counts and sums: the angles of a triangle, or solid angles bounded by intersecting planes. Figuratively it multiplies viewpoints. A question examined from several angles has been looked at in more than one way, and a news story can have competing angles, each a different focus.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of angle.

   The photographer angles the lens carefully to avoid the glare.

   Every spring he angles for trout in the cold mountain stream.

   Note

   One -s form serves several quite different verbs, and the construction tells them apart. With a direct object it places or slants something: she angles the lens, he angles the story toward the scandal. With for it hunts, either literally with hook and line (angles for trout) or figuratively, coaxing someone toward an offer. The spelling matches the noun's plural, so only the sentence shows which is meant.

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