x-axis

[ eks-ak-sis ]

noun

, Mathematics.

, plural x-ax·es [eks, -ak-seez].

1. Also called axis of abscissas. (in a plane Cartesian coordinate system) the axis, usually horizontal, along which the abscissa is measured and from which the ordinate is measured.
2. (in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system) the axis along which values of x are measured and at which both y and z equal zero.

x-axis

noun

1. a reference axis, usually horizontal, of a graph or two- or three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system along which the x- coordinate is measured

x-axis

/ ĕks′ăk′sĭs /

1. The horizontal axis of a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
2. One of the three axes of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

Word History and Origins

Origin of x-axis¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Imagine a coordinate plane, where the horizontal x-axis is Arbery’s bed — above the line, creation, and below it, shame.

From New York Times

The angle between i and the x-axis is 90 degrees.

From Literature

In May, the governor’s office apologized after a graph was posted showing a downward trajectory of cases — but only because the x-axis was not in chronological order.

From Washington Post

For example, in the parabola y = x² – 4x – 5 the two solutions when y = 0 are the symmetrical points r and s, where the parabola crosses the x-axis.

From Seattle Times

The x-axis is effort; the y-axis is results.

From Seattle Times