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lon·gi·tu·di·nal | \ ˌlän-jə-ˈtüd-nəl 
, -ˈtyüd-, -ˈt(y)ü-dᵊn-əl, British also ˌläŋ-gə- \
, -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
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Recent Examples on the Web Since then, the large longitudinal cohort study has followed the same women who first entered 25 years ago, gleaning insights into a range of associations between risk factors and health outcomes.
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Ryan Prior, CNN, "Gulping down 1 or more sugary drinks a day could put you at risk for cardiovascular disease," 13 May 2020 There is one — albeit small and limited — longitudinal study of a forest school program that observed 11 disadvantaged British youth who participated in a weekly forest school program for three years.
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Katherine Martinelli, New York Times, "Can Climbing Trees Replace Preparing for Tests?," 19 Apr. 2020 Mounted on the same vehicle at the same pressure, different--width tires will have the same total contact-patch area, but the narrower tire's longer contact patch improves longitudinal traction for acceleration and braking. —Ed.
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Car and Driver, "Explained: Car and Driver Will Now Take Your Questions, Part Three," 2 May 2020 Flockhart and Larsen point out that the data on Svendsen, which includes a series of eight lab testing sessions over a five-year period, offers a longitudinal test of the same question.
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Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, "Why a Higher VO2max Isn’t Always Better," 26 Dec. 2019 One way of using this big book is as the longitudinal presentation of a sensibility, its fluctuations plotted on a decades-long graph.
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Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, "The Many Voices of Charles Wright," 4 Nov. 2019 For the zucchini noodles: Cut the ends off the zucchini and thinly slice into longitudinal strips, like lasagna noodles, about ¼-inch thick.
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Mark Hyman, NBC News, "What's for dinner (and lunch the next day)? This healthy Turkey Zucchini Lasagna recipe," 3 Nov. 2019 For each test, the longitudinal distance and the time-to-collision was recorded when each vehicle gave a visual alert that a collision was imminent, as well as once the vehicle began to automatically brake.
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Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "Pedestrian detection systems don’t work very well, AAA finds," 7 Oct. 2019 The trauma stemming from chronic bullying can affect the structure of the brain, according to longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data collected by an international team based at King’s College London.
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Rod Mccullom, Quartz, "How bullying may shape adolescent brains," 7 Oct. 2019
See MoreThese 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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More Definitions for longitudinal
longitudinal
adjectiveEnglish 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
adjectivelon·gi·tu·di·nal | \ ˌlän-jə-ˈtü-dᵊn-əl , -ˈtyü- \
, -ˈtyü- \Kids Definition of longitudinal
: placed or running lengthwise
longitudinal stripes
longitudinal
adjectivelon·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
Other Words from longitudinal
longitudinally \ -ē \ adverb
\ adverbKeep scrolling for more
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Time Traveler for longitudinal
The first known use of longitudinal was in the 15th century
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