cosine

/ˈkoʊsaɪn/
noun
  1. In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the side adjacent to an angle to the length of the hypotenuse.
    • The teacher explained that cosine is one of the basic trigonometric functions.
    • To find the cosine of a 30-degree angle, divide the adjacent side by the hypotenuse.
    • We used cosine to calculate the distance across the lake.
  2. A mathematical function that describes the relationship between an angle and the x-coordinate on a unit circle.
    • The computer program plotted the cosine of each angle from 0 to 360 degrees.
    • In physics, cosine helps describe the motion of a pendulum.
    • The graph of cosine looks like a wave that starts at its highest point.
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