longitudinal

adjective

lon·gi·tu·di·nal | \ ˌlän-jə-ˈtüd-nəl

, -ˈtyüd-, -ˈt(y)ü-dᵊn-əl, British also ˌläŋ-gə-\

Definition of longitudinal

1 : placed or running lengthwise The insect's back is black with yellow longitudinal stripes.

2 : of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension the longitudinal extent of the building

3 : involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables a longitudinal study of juvenile offenders over a period of five years

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Examples of longitudinal in a Sentence

The insect's body is black with yellow longitudinal stripes. calculating the longitudinal position of a ship a longitudinal study of career aspirations among girls from 5 to 17

Recent Examples on the Web

And in a 2014 longitudinal study, researchers found that U.S. adolescents exposed to suicide in friends and family are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and, sometimes, attempts. — Elizabeth Culotta, Science | AAAS, "Have humans developed natural defenses against suicide?," 22 Aug. 2019 Students will be recruited into the My College Pathways project, a new five-year longitudinal panel. — Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, "CSUSM gets nearly $2M grant to study STEM students," 17 Aug. 2019 And the school just launched a new third-year longitudinal clerkship at MetroHealth, through which urban health students spend their core clinical year at the safety-net hospital. — Ginger Christ, cleveland.com, "Doctor shortage to worsen, patients could pay more for fewer options," 11 Aug. 2019 Directional drilling allowed developers to reach the shale, then turn the drill bit axis from perpendicular to longitudinal and lay pipes for a mile, sometimes two, through the thick shale seams. — Keith Schneider, ProPublica, "West Virginia Bets Big on Plastics, and on Backing of Trump Administration," 31 July 2019 Large longitudinal studies, meanwhile, require time and money. — Sara Talpos, Quartz, "The dangers of energy drinks can be fatal—especially for teens," 10 July 2019 Pickups, and most luxury and performance vehicles, tend to have longitudinal engines because the layout lends itself to more power, better handling and towing. — Mark Phelan, USA TODAY, "Why the new Ford Explorer has more in common with BMW and Mercedes," 19 June 2019 The first federally funded longitudinal study of LGBT elders found that 51% of those who lived in private residences reported social isolation. — CNN, "New York's new LGBT-friendly elder housing is a lifeline, but only for a few," 27 June 2019 Pickups, and most luxury and performance vehicles, tend to have longitudinal engines because the layout lends itself to more power, better handling and towing. — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, "2020 Ford Explorer's new RWD changes everything for the better," 18 June 2019

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

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Dictionary Entries near longitudinal

longitude of node

longitude of perihelion

longitude signal

longitudinal

longitudinal bulkhead

longitudinal crevasse

longitudinal fault

Statistics for longitudinal

Last Updated

6 Sep 2019

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Time Traveler for longitudinal

The first known use of longitudinal was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for longitudinal

longitudinal

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of longitudinal

: placed or going along the long side of something

: of or relating to longitude

: done by observing or examining a group of people or things over time to study how one or two particular things about them change

See the full definition for longitudinal in the English Language Learners Dictionary

longitudinal

adjective

lon·gi·tu·di·nal | \ ˌlän-jə-ˈtü-dᵊn-əl

, -ˈtyü-\

Kids Definition of longitudinal

: placed or running lengthwise longitudinal stripes

longitudinal

adjective

lon·gi·tu·di·nal | \ ˌlän-jə-ˈt(y)üd-ᵊn-əl, -nəl, British also ˌläŋ-gə-ˈtyüd-\

Medical Definition of longitudinal

1 : of, relating to, or occurring in the lengthwise dimension a longitudinal bone fracture

2 : extending along or relating to the anteroposterior axis of a body or part a trypanosome which reproduces by longitudinal fission

3 : involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables (as general health, the state of a disease, or mortality) a longitudinal study of heart transplant recipients over a five-year period