ellipse
/ɪˈlɪps/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪˈlɪps/ (ame, ipa) · /i-ˈlips e-/ (ame, mw)
ellipse — noun
- ellipsesingular
- ellipsesplural
1. a flat, closed curve that looks like a stretched circle, longer in one direction
a flat, closed curve that looks like a stretched circle, longer in one direction than the other and rounded smoothly at every point.
Hiro drew a perfect ellipse on the whiteboard to show the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
common collocation: draw an ellipse
The running track at the school was shaped like an ellipse, with two long sides and rounded ends.
describing real-world shape: shaped like an ellipse
Isabela's geometry homework asked her to find the area inside an ellipse.
The garden pond was a wide ellipse with water lilies floating in the middle.
On a clear night, Asher noticed that the path of the comet traced a long, narrow ellipse across the sky.
- oval
everyday word for the same shape; less precise mathematically
用法筆記
Subject is typically a curve, orbit, track, or pond — anything closed and oval. Distinguish from 'oval', which is the everyday word; 'ellipse' is the precise mathematical term.