asymptote

[ as-im-toht ]

noun

, Mathematics.

1. a straight line approached by a given curve as one of the variables in the equation of the curve approaches infinity.

asymptote

/ ˈæsɪmˌtəʊt /

noun

1. a straight line that is closely approached by a plane curve so that the perpendicular distance between them decreases to zero as the distance from the origin increases to infinity

asymptote

/ ăs′ĭm-tōt′ /

1. A line whose distance to a given curve tends to zero. An asymptote may or may not intersect its associated curve.

Word History and Origins

Origin of asymptote¹

1650–60; < Greek asýmptōtos, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + sýmptōtos falling together ( sym- sym- + ptōtós falling, derivative of ptō-, variant stem of píptein to fall + -tos verbid suffix)

Word History and Origins

Origin of asymptote¹

C17: from Greek asumptōtos not falling together, from a- ¹+ syn- + ptōtos inclined to fall, from piptein to fall

Example Sentences

Hynes’s genius is the way he keeps the anxiety fueled by 9/11 in the margins until the story finally hurtles us down the asymptote of terror.

From Washington Post

The important question is the value of the effort, and whether it leaves us separated by an asymptote or a chasm.

From New York Times

His Funkle Asymptote is defined as an asymptote that has transcendental slope.

From Scientific American

It’s like an asymptote, moving toward but never arriving at the point of convergence.

From The New Yorker

The curve tends toward positive or negative infinity, always approaching the asymptote but never reaching it.

From The New Yorker