Definition of Cartesian coordinates in US English:
Cartesian coordinates
plural nounkärˈtēZHən kōˈôrdəˌnāts
Numbers which indicate the location of a point relative to a fixed reference point (the origin), being its shortest (perpendicular) distances from two fixed axes (or three planes defined by three fixed axes) which intersect at right angles at the origin.
Example sentencesExamples
- Three others also use balls, one involving balls in columns, one involving two balls of different colours which move at right angles to each other suggesting almost the idea of Cartesian coordinates.
- Some of the things you learn to do with about Cartesian coordinates, or vectors, in the plane would work equally well in 3 or more dimensions.
- Because we consider only circular chambers, polar rather than Cartesian coordinates are more convenient to use in constructing the new chamber.
- This is with respect to some arbitrary origin and in fact is more general than the standard Cartesian coordinates.
- A point in the plane can be described by Cartesian coordinates.