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

Headroom With the wind tunnel drawing aggressive tumblehome and longitudinal tapers into their cockpits, many exotics leave little headroom for tall drivers. — Eric Tingwall, Car and Driver, "Driving from the Middle of the Car Is About to Make a Comeback: Here Are the Pros and Cons," 20 Feb. 2018 The team used data from 262 adolescents taken from Dr. Luthar’s New England Study of Suburban Youth (NESSY), a longitudinal study of adolescents in high-achieving schools. — Jennifer Breheny Wallace, WSJ, "The Right Way for Parents to Question Their Teenagers," 23 Nov. 2018 For example, the AAP cites one longitudinal study published in 1995. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Here’s What You Need to Know About Using Marijuana While Pregnant or Breastfeeding," 12 Oct. 2018 Rumor is that the Explorer will revert to a longitudinal engine layout and come standard with rear-wheel drive, while all-wheel drive will remain available throughout the model line and is almost certain to come standard on the ST. — Greg Fink, Car and Driver, "Ford Explorer ST Confirmed, Rear-Wheel Drive a Possibility," 15 Mar. 2018 Several longitudinal studies show this, as well, with children, teens, and young adults who spend more time on digital media later showing more mental-health issues. — Jeanne Whalen, WSJ, "Is Screen Time Bad for Children’s Mental Health?," 24 June 2018 Rather, judging by the deformation of the conical, rifled bullet, the slug went in at an angle, embedding itself sideways in the man’s upper femur and precipitating a nasty longitudinal fracture down the bone’s length. — Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, "Newly Unearthed Civil War Bones Speak Silently to the Grim Aftermath of Battle," 20 June 2018 Michigan leads the longitudinal clinical core studying the natural history of concussions among NCAA athletes. — Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "University of Wisconsin part of major study on concussions in sports," 30 May 2018 With colleagues in Oxford, she is involved in a longitudinal study of extremely premature babies and another of teen-age girls who suffer particularly painful periods. — Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, "The Neuroscience of Pain," 9 May 2016

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

8 Mar 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