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elliptical

Sayi-LIP-ti-kuhl/ɪˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl/UK/ɪˈlɪp.tɪk.əl/

Noun pluralellipticals

6 meanings of elliptical

Practice

  1. 1
    ovaladjective
    Shaped like an oval, a circle that has been stretched out.

    The park has an elliptical pond full of ducks.

    Our new table is elliptical, so everyone can see each other.

    Similaroval

  2. 2
    exercise machinenouncountable
    A machine you use for exercise, also called an elliptical trainer.

    I spent twenty minutes on the elliptical at the gym.

    We bought an elliptical for the basement.

  3. 3
    words left outadjective
    Having one or more words left out.

    Text messages are full of elliptical sentences like "Running late."

    The headline was elliptical, leaving out the verb to save space.

    Note
  4. 4
    short and denseadjective
    Using very few words to say a lot.

    Grandpa's elliptical way of talking means you have to listen closely.

    The coach gave a short, elliptical speech: "Work hard. Win."

    Similarconcise, terse, compressed, cryptic

    Oppositeverbose, wordy

    Note
  5. 5
    galaxynouncountable
    A huge group of stars in space, or galaxy, that is shaped like an oval.

    Through the big telescope, the elliptical looked like a fuzzy oval of light.

    Most of the galaxies in that picture are ellipticals.

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    in mathadjectiverare
    In math, the same as elliptic, which people use more often.

    In elliptical geometry, any two straight lines always meet.

    At the university she took a hard math course on elliptical functions and their equations.

    Note

Practice

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Origin

From elliptic + -al, from a Greek word meaning "I leave out".