vertical adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of vertical adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

vertical

adjective
 OPAL W
 
/ˈvɜːtɪkl/
 
/ˈvɜːrtɪkl/
jump to other results
  1.  
    (of a line, pole, etc.) going straight up or down from a level surface or from top to bottom in a picture, etc.
    • the vertical axis of the graph
    • The cliff was almost vertical.
    • There was a vertical drop to the ocean.
    compare horizontal (1)Topics Colours and Shapesb2, Maths and measurementb2
  2. having a structure in which there are top, middle and bottom levels
    • a vertical flow of communication
    compare horizontal (2)
  3. (medical) passed from one generation to the next
    • 4% of these infections result from vertical transmission from mother to baby.
    4. Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘directly overhead’): from French, or from late Latin verticalis, from vertex ‘whirlpool, crown of a head, vertex’, from vertere ‘to turn’.
See vertical in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee vertical in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: vertical

Nearby words

reliable
adjective
 
 
From the Word list
OPAL written words
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day