Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun secant

2 senses of secant

Sense 1
secant -- (a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points)
       => straight line -- (a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature; "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line")

Sense 2
secant, sec -- (ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle)
       => trigonometric function, circular function -- (function of an angle expressed as a ratio of the length of the sides of right-angled triangle containing the angle)