hypotenuse
/haɪˈpɑtənus/noun
hypotenuse is spelled H-Y-P-O-T-E-N-U-S-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hypotenuse means “The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hypotenuse is hypotenuses.
How many letters and syllables are in hypotenuse?
| Letters | 10: H-Y-P-O-T-E-N-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 78,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hypotenuse?
Hypotenuse appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hypotenuse?
- UK /haɪˈpɒtənjuːz/
- UK [haɪˈpɒʔn̩juːz]
- US /haɪˈpɑtənus/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hypotenuse.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-StalJosA-Hypotenuse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hypotenuse
- hypotenuses plural
- hypotheni
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hypotenuse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hypotenuse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hypoténuse |
| German | Hypotenuse |
| Portuguese | hipotenusa |
| Spanish | hipotenusa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hypotenuse come from?
From Latin hypotenusa, from Ancient Greek ὑποτείνουσα πλευρά (hupoteínousa pleurá, “side subtending [the right angle]”), from ὑποτείνουσα (hupoteínousa, “stretching, extending, subtending”), active participle of ὑποτείνω (hupoteínō, “subtend, stretch under”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).