diagonal

adjective di·ag·o·nal \ dī-ˈa-gə-nᵊl , -ˈag-nəl \

Updated on: 9 May 2018

Definition of diagonal

1 a : 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

2 a : inclined obliquely from a reference line (such as the vertical)

wood with a diagonal grain

b : having diagonal markings or parts

a diagonal weave

See diagonal defined for English-language learners

See diagonal defined for kids

Examples of diagonal in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of diagonal from the Web

And the poster bed now is imaginatively positioned at a diagonal in front of two walls of bookcases, which makes room for a seating area in front of the fireplace at the far end.

— nancy schoeffler, courant.com, "Decorator Showhouse In West Hartford A Showcase Of Inspired Home Design," 29 Apr. 2018
Carbon fiber has a twill weave, which produces a pattern of diagonal lines, and Olivares wanted to mimic that weave in the fabric that covered the daybed’s cushion.

— pilar viladas, Curbed, "How ship masts inspired this LA-designer’s latest textile collection," 12 Apr. 2018
Police also taped off a large diagonal section of one of the complex's courtyards.

— laura mcknight, NOLA.com, "Man shot at Algiers apartments: NOPD," 5 Apr. 2018
Working in consistent 1-inch sections (use diagonal sections around your face instead of square for a softer finish), use your finger to twirl and twist the hair from roots to ends.

— brooke shunatona, Cosmopolitan, "7 Easy Ways to Style Textured, Curly, or Wavy Hair," 10 Jan. 2018
The dark diagonal design is probably of bracken fern.

— carolyn patten | for the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "What are they worth: Victorian bedroom set, Bohemian lamp, Pomo basket," 4 Apr. 2018
One such external indicator is diagonal creases on the earlobes -- known as Frank's sign, named after Sanders Frank, an American doctor who first described the sign.

— adam taylor, CNN, "Heart disease risk may show in your earlobes, eyes, fingers," 29 Mar. 2018
Use your scissors to cut from each corner along the diagonal fold, stopping 1.5 inches from the center.

— megan arnett, Scientific American, "Just Keep Spinning--Find the Best Pinwheel Design!," 29 Mar. 2018
On a restart, Catonsville’s Savannah Beaver threw a diagonal pass from 35 yards out across the field to Sophi Wrisk.

— craig clary, baltimoresun.com, "Catonsville girls lacrosse upends Towson after early deficit," 27 Mar. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of diagonal

Latin diagonalis, from Greek diagōnios from angle to angle, from dia- + gōnia angle; akin to Greek gony knee — more at ¹knee

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1563

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

diagonal Synonyms

Synonyms

cant, canted, graded, inclined, leaning, listing, oblique, pitched, raked, slant, slanted, slantwise, sloped, sloping, tilted, tilting;

Near Antonyms

horizontal, level;

plumb, up-and-down, vertical;

parallel, perpendicular;

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

diagonal

noun

Definition of diagonal

1 : a diagonal straight line or plane

2 a (1) : a diagonal direction

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

b : something oriented in diagonal position

3 : slash 4

— on the diagonal

: in an oblique direction : diagonally

See diagonal defined for English-language learners

Examples of diagonal in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of diagonal from the Web

Some neat footwork by Luka Modric in midfield was followed up by a pinpoint diagonal ball to Marcelo's feet.

— CNN, "Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich to reach fourth Champions League final in five years," 1 May 2018
The almost immaculate pavement was cut by multiple jagged shadow-diagonals, and sometimes pierced by tall weeds.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "As Innocuous as Plant No. 1," 10 Apr. 2018
There was a lack of pace, a lack of movement, to the point that for long spells its only attacking idea appeared to be long diagonals hit wide left to Leroy Sane.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "What Makes Jurgen Klopp's Teams Such a Threat to Pep Guardiola's?," 5 Apr. 2018
The Brown Marx building, diagonal from the PNC Building, was bought for $3.7 million and is expected to be developed into a hotel.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Birmingham Update: sports news, a new airline, and more retail," 5 Apr. 2018
Both systems have a range of 1920×1080 and 3840×2160 screens, with the major variation being the choice between a 15.6- or 17.3-inch diagonal.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "HP packs 6 cores, 32GB ECC memory, 4TB SSD into a 5lb laptop," 5 Apr. 2018
The city’s Aviation Department said the improvements show the effectiveness of the O’Hare Modernization Program, which reconfigured the airfield into a parallel runway layout, with more runways going east to west, rather than on diagonals.

— mary wisniewski, chicagotribune.com, "O'Hare's on-time performance improves, moves from bottom of the pile to middle: FAA," 3 Apr. 2018
It was changed to a blue diagonal script in 1979, similar to the one worn on the Royals home jersey at the time.

— cynthia billhartz gregorian, kansascity, "The man who designed iconic Kansas City Royals logo in '60s recalls how he did it | The Kansas City Star," 29 Mar. 2018
With forward Max Domi tying up Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in front of the net, Cousins’ diagonal shot seemed to ricochet off Doughty’s skate and into the net to give the Coyotes a 2-0 advantage as play moved to the second period.

— richard morin, azcentral, "Adin Hill notches first NHL win as Coyotes hold on to beat Kings in shootout," 13 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of diagonal

1571

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

diagonal Synonyms

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

DIAGONAL Defined for English Language Learners

diagonal

adjective

Definition of diagonal for English Language Learners

of a straight line : joining two opposite corners of a shape (such as a square or rectangle) especially by crossing the center point of the shape
: not going straight across or up and down

diagonal

noun

Definition of diagonal for English Language Learners

: a diagonal line, direction, or pattern

DIAGONAL Defined for Kids

diagonal

adjective di·ag·o·nal \ dī-ˈa-gə-nᵊl , -ˈag-nəl \

Definition of diagonal for Students

1 : running from one corner to the opposite corner of a four-sided shape (as a square)

a diagonal line

2 : running in a slanting direction

diagonal stripes

—

diagonally

\-nə-lē\ adverb

diagonal

noun

Definition of diagonal for Students

: a line, direction, or pattern that runs in a slanting direction

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See words that rhyme with diagonal Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for diagonal Spanish Central: Translation of diagonal Nglish: Translation of diagonal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of diagonal for Arabic speakers

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diagonal

Definition of diagonal

Examples of diagonal in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of diagonal

diagonal Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

diagonal

Definition of diagonal

Examples of diagonal in a Sentence

Recent Examples of diagonal from the Web

First Known Use of diagonal

diagonal Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

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DIAGONAL Defined for English Language Learners

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Definition of diagonal for English Language Learners

diagonal

Definition of diagonal for English Language Learners

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Definition of diagonal for Students

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diagonal

Definition of diagonal for Students

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