diagonal

adjective

di·ag·o·nal | \ dī-ˈa-gə-nᵊl

, -ˈag-nəl\

Definition of diagonal

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : joining two vertices of a rectilinear figure that are nonadjacent or two vertices of a polyhedral figure that are not in the same face

b : passing through two nonadjacent edges of a polyhedron a diagonal plane

2a : inclined obliquely from a reference line (such as the vertical) wood with a diagonal grain

b : having diagonal markings or parts a diagonal weave

diagonal

noun

Definition of diagonal (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a diagonal straight line or plane

2a(1) : a diagonal direction

(2) : a diagonal row, arrangement, or pattern

b : something oriented in diagonal position

3 : slash sense 4

on the diagonal

: in an oblique direction : diagonally

Other Words from diagonal Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about diagonal

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Examples of diagonal in a Sentence

Adjective

The blanket is covered with diagonal stripes. the diagonal design ran up the wall all the way from the lower left to the upper right-hand corner

Noun

a design with strong diagonals the ramp was set at a low diagonal to make it easier for physically challenged patrons

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The diagonal rainbow stripe also fits in really well on a black background. — SI.com, "50 Most Iconic Football Shirts of All Time," 7 July 2019 The kitchen features 18-inch diagonal tile floors, black KitchenAid appliances and glass top range. — Bang Staff And Correspondents, The Mercury News, "Sponsored: Island lifestyle in Alameda is a dream come true," 2 July 2019 The 10-story black granite building, known for the diagonal stair-step pattern notched into the side, was built in 1984 as a showcase for the interior design industry. — Katherine Feser, Houston Chronicle, "Former Greenway Plaza design center building trades hands," 28 June 2019 The recall involves laptop computers with a 15.4-inch diagonal screen, 2.2-2.5 GHz processors, 2256GB-1TB solid state storage, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3 ports and one HDMI port. — Kate Gibson, CBS News, "Apple recalls 432,000 MacBook Pro laptops for fire and burn risks," 27 June 2019 The most common patterns, not surprisingly, are horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, along with zigzags and crosses. — Patrick May, The Mercury News, "Want to win this week’s Mega Millions jackpot? Here are some things to avoid," 6 June 2019 The most familiar symmetry transformations — reflect a square over its diagonal, or rotate the square 90 degrees — are very rigid. — Quanta Magazine, "A Proof About Where Symmetries Can’t Exist," 23 Oct. 2018 At any point, artists were on stages diagonal to one another, and this year open to the adjacent street to allow for a freer thoroughfare. — Steven J. Horowitz, Billboard, "LA Pride Festival 2019: Meghan Trainor Impresses, Years & Years and MNEK Shine," 10 June 2019 Press it up at a 45-degree angle — or vertically if the diagonal angle hurts your shoulder or otherwise doesn’t feel right — and bring your elbows back in. — NBC News, "Train like an athlete: 5 postpartum exercises the Lamoureux twins love," 7 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Along the front, diagonal pinstripes cut across the shirt. — SI.com, "Wolves Away Kit 2019/20: Wanderers Release Smart New Away Strip to Positive Reviews," 15 July 2019 It’s structured by a handful of horizontals, verticals, and diagonals. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "A Closer Look at Rockwell’s Four Freedoms," 22 June 2019 Gargiulo lived in a unit diagonal to hers across a pool on the second floor. — Martha Ross, The Mercury News, "Jurors visit ‘Hollywood Ripper’ murder scene of Bay Area woman dating Ashton Kutcher," 21 June 2019 Bob does not know the settings that Alice has used and can only make a random choice for the orientation of his measurement apparatus: horizontal/vertical or diagonal/anti-diagonal. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Conservation of energy used to parallelize quantum key distribution," 17 Dec. 2018 But make no mistake, that usually captivating bunch once known for a samba-style soccer and a dizzying array of diagonal runs, heel passes and bicycle kicks, looked nothing more than basic for all but the final minutes of a second straight match. — Matthew Futterman And Victor Mather, New York Times, "Brazil Gets Its First Win, a Triumph of Grit More Than Style," 23 June 2018 In Group 1, all four elements are 2-torsion, which is evident by the line of zeroes on the diagonal: 0 + 0 = 0, a + a = 0, b + b = 0, c + c = 0. — Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, "New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes," 2 Mar. 2017 But in this case, Tintoretto has breathed air into his giant vision, clustered his figures into meaningful groups and structured the whole thing around a series of diagonals that converge on Christ on the cross. — Washington Post, "Seeing Tintoretto is Venice is very nice. But so is seeing his works in a well-lit museum.," 27 June 2019 Using a sharp knife, crosshatch the flesh on the diagonal, making cuts about ½-inch deep and 1 inch apart. — Jessica Yadegaran, The Mercury News, "Contramar recipe: Gabriela Camara’s Red and Green Grilled Red Snapper," 22 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diagonal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.