perpendicular

[ pur-puhn-dik-yuh-ler ]

adjective

1. vertical; straight up and down; upright.

   Synonyms: standing

2. Geometry. meeting a given line or surface at right angles.
3. maintaining a standing or upright position; standing up.
4. having a sharp pitch or slope; steep.
5. (initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to the last style of English Gothic architecture, prevailing from the late 14th through the early 16th century and characterized by the use of predominantly vertical tracery, an overall linear, shallow effect, and fine intricate stonework.

noun

1. a perpendicular line or plane.
2. an instrument for indicating the vertical line from any point.
3. an upright position.
4. a sharply pitched or precipitously steep mountain face.
5. moral virtue or uprightness; rectitude.
6. Nautical. either of two lines perpendicular to the keel line, base line, or designed water line of a vessel.

perpendicular

/ ˌpɜːpənˌdɪkjʊˈlærɪtɪ; ˌpɜːpənˈdɪkjʊlə /

adjective

1. Alsonormal at right angles to a horizontal plane
2. denoting, relating to, or having the style of Gothic architecture used in England during the 14th and 15th centuries, characterized by tracery having vertical lines, a four-centred arch, and fan vaulting
3. upright; vertical

noun

1. geometry a line or plane perpendicular to another
2. any instrument used for indicating the vertical line through a given point
3. mountaineering a nearly vertical face

perpendicular

/ pûr′pən-dĭk′yə-lər /

Adjective

1. Intersecting at or forming a right angle or right angles.

Noun

1. A line or plane that is perpendicular to a given line or plane.

Derived Forms

• ˌperpenˈdicularly, adverb
• perpendicularity, noun

Other Words From

• perpen·dicu·lari·ty perpen·dicu·lar·ness noun
• perpen·dicu·lar·ly adverb
• nonper·pen·dicu·lar adjective noun
• nonper·pen·dicu·lar·ly adverb
• nonper·pen·dicu·lari·ty noun
• unper·pen·dicu·lar adjective
• unper·pen·dicu·lar·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of perpendicular¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin perpendiculāris “vertical,” equivalent to perpendicul(um) “plumb line” ( perpend ², -i-, -cule ² ) + -āris -ar ¹; replacing Middle English perpendiculer(e) (adjective and adverb), from Old French perpendiculiere

Word History and Origins

Origin of perpendicular¹

C14: from Latin perpendiculāris, from perpendiculum a plumb line, from per- through + pendēre to hang

Synonym Study

See upright.

Example Sentences

But, on the day of an equinox, the tilt of Earth's axis is perpendicular to the Sun's rays, producing a nearly equal amount of day and night all over the world.

From BBC

Opera singer Benjamin Bernheim, in a robe made from recycled VHS tape, sang the “Hymn to Apollo” accompanied by Alain Roche, playing a piano suspended in the air, perpendicular to the ground.

From Los Angeles Times

But someone in L.A. could have felt the “S” wave, in which bedrock oscillates perpendicular to the direction of the propagation of the wave, according to Page.

From Los Angeles Times

This braced leg then acted as a pivot for the rest of his body to contort over with his bowling arm up high in his unique 'beyond the perpendicular' style.

From BBC

She dug a narrow, shallow, 41-foot-long trench in the ground, running perpendicular to the Pacific Ocean, and poured powdered ultramarine pigment into it.

From New York Times

Related Words

• erect
• on end
• plumb