perpendicular

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adjective per·pen·dic·u·lar \ ˌpər-pən-ˈdi-kyə-lər \

Definition of perpendicular

1 a :standing at right angles to the plane of the horizon :exactly upright

b :being at right angles to a given line or plane

2 :extremely steep :precipitous

3 often capitalized :of or relating to a medieval English Gothic style of architecture in which vertical lines predominate

4 :relating to, uniting, or consisting of individuals of dissimilar type or on different levels

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perpendicularity

play \ˌpər-pən-ˌdi-kyə-ˈler-ə-tē, -ˈla-rə-\ noun

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perpendicularly

play \ˌpər-pən-ˈdi-kyə-lər-lē\ adverb

See perpendicular defined for English-language learners

See perpendicular defined for kids

Examples of perpendicular in a Sentence

She lives on the street that is perpendicular to mine.
river rafters staring awestruck at the canyon's nearly perpendicular cliffs

Recent Examples of perpendicular from the Web

Two of the three tombs consist of burial chambers branching off a perpendicular burial shaft, with fifteen burial holes between them—including a small hole carved out for the body of a child.

— michael greshko, National Geographic, "Three New Ancient Tombs Discovered in Egypt," 16 Aug. 2017
Your right shoulder, elbow, and wrist will remain aligned and perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement.

— lauren bedosky, SELF, "The Shoulder Stability Exercise Anyone Who Lifts Weights Should Do," 13 July 2017
Stick the net in the water, perpendicular to the riverbank, with the current running through the net, and wait.

— suzanna caldwell, Alaska Dispatch News, "Here’s what you need to know before the Kenai dipnetting season opens," 8 July 2017
By 1988, the Hunchback tilted more than eight feet from the perpendicular.

— National Geographic, "Satellite Images Reveal Mosul's Cultural Destruction," 23 June 2017
But listing 253 centimeters off its perpendicular ax, the precarious minaret has long been a concern.

— loveday morris, Washington Post, "ISIS blows up historic mosque in Mosul, Iraqi military says," 21 June 2017
Using tongs, hold a steak perpendicular to grill and sear bone side and fat-cap side of steak to render out some of the fat, about 2 minutes per side.

— Bon Appetit, "Grilled Bone-In Rib Eye," 19 June 2017
The I-30 sign was to be 8-foot-tall steel letters, mounted on repurposed concrete construction barriers cascaded one-by-one for 500 feet perpendicular to the highway and lit after sunset.

— sandra baker, star-telegram.com, "Artwork spelling out ‘Fort Worth’ along highway hits another pothole," 12 June 2017
To get around this issue, Gleason angles two rows of panels slightly off the wall’s perpendicular: In North America, solar panels also usually face south, toward the equator.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "Trump's Solar-Powered Border Wall Is More Than a Troll," 7 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of perpendicular

Middle English perpendiculer, from Middle French, from Latin perpendicularis, from perpendiculum plumb line, from per- + pendēre to hang — more at pendant

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First Known Use: 14th century

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perpendicular Synonyms

Synonyms

erect, plumb, raised, standing, stand-up, upright, upstanding, vertical

Antonyms

flat, recumbent

Related Words

elevated, lifted, upended, upraised; semierect; freestanding, stand-alone

Near Antonyms

prostrate, supine; diagonal, hanging, sagging, slant, slanted, slanting, slanty

Synonym Discussion of perpendicular

vertical, perpendicular, plumb mean being at right angles to a base line. vertical suggests a line or direction rising straight upward toward a zenith.

- the side of the cliff is almost vertical

perpendicular may stress the straightness of a line making a right angle with any other line, not necessarily a horizontal one.

- the parallel bars are perpendicular to the support posts

plumb stresses an exact verticality determined (as with a plumb line) by earth's gravity.

- make sure that the wall is plumb

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

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

perpendicular

noun

Definition of perpendicular

:a line at right angles to a line or plane (as of the horizon)

First Known Use of perpendicular

1551

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

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

PERPENDICULAR Defined for English Language Learners

perpendicular

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adjective

Definition of perpendicular for English Language Learners

: going straight up or to the side at a 90 degree angle from another line or surface

PERPENDICULAR Defined for Kids

perpendicular

play

adjective per·pen·dic·u·lar \ ˌpər-pən-ˈdi-kyə-lər \

Definition of perpendicular for Students

1 :exactly vertical

2 :being at right angles to a line or surface

The letter T is made with two perpendicular lines.

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perpendicularly

adverb

perpendicular

noun

Definition of perpendicular for Students

:a line, surface, or position at right angles to another line, surface, or position

Learn More about perpendicular

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

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perpendicular

Definition of perpendicular

perpendicularity

perpendicularly

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Examples of perpendicular in a Sentence

Recent Examples of perpendicular from the Web

Origin and Etymology of perpendicular

perpendicular Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of perpendicular

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

perpendicular

Definition of perpendicular

First Known Use of perpendicular

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

PERPENDICULAR Defined for English Language Learners

perpendicular

Definition of perpendicular for English Language Learners

PERPENDICULAR Defined for Kids

perpendicular

Definition of perpendicular for Students

perpendicularly

perpendicular

Definition of perpendicular for Students

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