vertex

noun

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ver·tex | \ ˈvər-ˌteks

plural vertices\ ˈvər-tə-ˌsēz

\ also vertexes

Definition of vertex

1 : the top of the head

2a : the point opposite to and farthest from the base in a figure

b : a point (as of an angle, polygon, polyhedron, graph, or network) that terminates a line or curve or comprises the intersection of two or more lines or curves

c : a point where an axis of an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola intersects the curve itself

3 : a principal or highest point : summit the vertex of the hill

Examples of vertex in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But last week one of my students located the vertex of a parabola in a particularly elegant way. — Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2021 Initially, every vertex has the same probability of being open to the flow of water. — Quanta Magazine, 8 July 2021 Initially, every vertex has the same probability of being open to the flow of water. — Quanta Magazine, 8 July 2021 Initially, every vertex has the same probability of being open to the flow of water. — Allison Whitten, Wired, 11 July 2021 For these quantum experiments, every path a photon takes is represented by a vertex. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, 2 July 2021 Standard graphs can only express relationships between pairs of things, like two friends in a social network (where each person is represented by a vertex). — Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2021 In these structures, known as linear hypergraphs, no two edges are allowed to overlap at more than one vertex. — Quanta Magazine, 5 Apr. 2021 With angles of 36, 72 and 108 degrees, the triangles’ connection to pentagons is natural and also allows the triangles to combine in many ways around a vertex. — Quanta Magazine, 20 Nov. 2020

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