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🥚 Oval-shaped 🏃 Exercise machine 🤫 Using few words
elliptical

elliptical

13 4.5
Having an oval shape like an egg
  • adjective
  • /ɪˈlɪptɪkəl/
: elíptico
  • Because Mars and the Earth move around the sun in elliptical orbits, the distance separating them at opposition varies.
  • elliptical shape
  • elliptical orbit
  • elliptical galaxy

My head is roughly, well, it's not really spherical, it's elliptical, right?

Examples

  • The Moon has entered an elliptical orbit.

    Moonfall (2022)

  • The Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical, which means for a few months a year we're a little bit closer to the sun.

  • The planets move in elliptical orbits rather than in circles and epicycles.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The spacecraft is now in elliptical orbit... with an apogee of 141 nautical miles and a perigee of 122 nautical miles.

    Capricorn One (1977)

  • The artist painted an elliptical shape that resembled an egg.

  • During the race, runners followed the elliptical track that looped around the field.

  • The garden features elliptical flower beds that add a unique touch to the landscape.

Synonyms

oval
vselliptical
28 1.0

Having a rounded shape that is slightly longer than a circle, like an egg

is a slightly more formal term for that rounded outline
oval-shaped
vselliptical
4 3.0

A shape that is long and round like an egg

is the more technical description rather than everyday naming
egg-shaped
vselliptical
4 2.5

Having a shape like an egg

is a more neutral geometric description than that casual image
ovoid
vselliptical
1 6.1

Having a rounded shape like an egg

is a broader term for any similar stretched round outline
elliptic
vselliptical
1 6.5

A shape like an egg or an oval

is the common word for a rounded, egglike outline
ovoidal
vselliptical
1 6.6

Shaped like an egg

is the neutral geometric descriptor rather than a natural comparison
oviform
vselliptical
  • Specialized
9.1

Shaped like an egg

is the everyday way to describe that same general shape

How Oval

elongated
18 4.5
elliptical
13 4.5
oval
28 1.0
circular
74 2.8

Surface Forms

elliptical positive
elliptic positive

Morphology

elliptical = elliptic (transparent) = elliptic + al

Clear and productive adjective formation from the base relating to an ellipse; meaning 'having an oval shape' is directly derived.

Etymology

Elliptical comes from the word ellipse, which describes a stretched circle like an egg, so it means 'oval' or rounded. That's why we call an oval mirror or stone 'elliptical'.