A tangent is a straight line that touches a curve at a single point without crossing it. Imagine a circle: if you draw a line that just grazes the edge of the circle at one point, that line is a tangent. This concept is important in geometry and helps us understand how shapes interact with each other. In mathematics, tangents are often used in calculus to find the slope of a curve at a specific point. For example, the tangent line can show how steep a hill is at a certain spot. Understanding tangents is essential for studying related topics like trigonometry and differential calculus.