How to Use on a diagonal in a Sentence

on a diagonal

idiom
  • Long boards installed on a diagonal from the room's walls.
    Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 3 Mar. 2021
  • The station, well placed on a diagonal, has a nice presence along the St. Paul and Charles streets corridors.
    Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, 14 Aug. 2021
  • An order of toast ($6) comes with one fat, cottony slice, cut on a diagonal bias.
    Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 May 2021
  • The hack works like this: Instead of placing your box with its edges parallel to the edges of the wrapping paper, put it on a diagonal in the middle of the piece of wrapping paper.
    Kelsey Hurwitz, Woman's Day, 17 Dec. 2019
  • Going the other way on a diagonal, make very shallow lines.
    Sheryl Julian, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Dec. 2022
  • Inside, checkerboard tiles set on a diagonal line the central hall, which accesses the main living areas and a set of stairs.
    Lauren Beale, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2022
  • Walking on a diagonal line across the site, the biologists collect at least five samples of soil in plastic bags.
    Jeff Wheelwright, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2017
  • Those exiting pitlane are on a diagonal similar to a highway on-ramp, and for the first part, the two sides are separated by a wall.
    Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 June 2023
  • Cut crosswise on a diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices (broccoli should be cut into florets; pin onion slices with toothpicks to keep them from falling apart).
    Steven Raichlen New York Times, Star Tribune, 21 July 2021
  • This pattern is like herringbone, but instead of interlocking, boards are cut on a diagonal so their ends align.
    Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 3 Mar. 2021
  • The open-toe sandal paired a slim toe strap with a second, slightly higher strap that crossed the foot on a diagonal.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Cut sausage on a diagonal into 2-inch pieces.
    Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2026
  • Transfer to a cutting board and slice in half on a diagonal.
    Alison Roman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on a diagonal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: