triangulate

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɹaɪˈæŋɡjəleɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Verb

triangulate (third-person singular simple present triangulates, present participle triangulating, simple past and past participle triangulated)

1. To locate by means of triangulation.
   • 1966, Bob Shaw, Light of Other Days:

     "I'll give you a check now," I said abruptly, and saw Selina's green eyes triangulate angrily on my face.

2. (politics) To pit two others against each other in order to achieve a desired outcome or to gain an advantage; to "play both sides against the middle".
   • 2015 December 14, Alexis Levinson, “Four Storylines to Watch at the Las Vegas GOP Debate”, in National Review‎^[1]:

     Cruz, meanwhile, could wind up in the hot seat as he tries to triangulate between his disagreement with Trump’s position and his clear unwillingness to openly attack.

   • 2019 December 16, Tom Kibasi, “How Labour went from near-breakthrough in 2017 to disaster in 2019”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     By attempting to triangulate, Labour convinced leavers it was for remain and remainers that it was for leave. The party looked cynical and opportunistic,  […]

   • 2024 November 8, Ross Douthat, “How Democrats Helped Trump”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Triangulating after a midterm loss is a tried-and-true tactic for improving an administration’s position, yet it’s a tactic that the Biden Democrats largely eschewed: There was no Clintonian push for a sweeping legislative deal on deficit reduction, no serious outreach on social issues, no reconsideration of the aggressive efforts to regulate gas-powered cars or forgive student loans, and only a too-little-too-late effort to restore order to the southern border.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

3. (geometry, computer graphics) To divide into triangles.

Translations

to locate by triangulation

• French: trianguler (fr)
• Portuguese: triangular (pt)
• Russian: триангули́ровать (ru) impf or pf (triangulírovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: triantanaich
• Spanish: triangular (es)

to pit two against each other

• German: gegeneinander ausspielen (de)

Adjective

triangulate (not comparable)

1. triangular

Derived terms

• triangulately

Esperanto

Adverb

triangulate

1. present adverbial passive participle of trianguli

Latin

Adjective

triangulāte

1. vocative masculine singular of triangulātus

Spanish

Verb

triangulate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of triangular combined with te