perpendicular1 adjectiveperpendicular2 noun
perpendicularper‧pen‧dic‧u‧lar1 /ˌpɜːpənˈdɪkjələ◂ $ ˌpɜːrpənˈdɪkjələr◂/ adjective 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINperpendicular1
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Old French perpendiculer, from Latin, from perpendiculum ‘plumb line’, from pendere ‘to hang’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a perpendicular pole
- Behind them, there was a perpendicular wall of rock.
- Ensure that the plumbline is perpendicular before you start to draw the line.
- In a graph, the x-axis is perpendicular to the y-axis.
- A1 and A2: carbon-bearing, electrolyte-saturated, measurement direction parallel and perpendicular to planes of foliation respectively.
- Each of us spotted a different line of cobbles extending across the plain, perpendicular to the prevailing gradient of slope.
- His eyes were deep set, his nose thin and perpendicular, his mouth narrow and open.
- Looked a bit perpendicular when I saw it.
- Looking over his left shoulder, he raises his arms perpendicular to his sides.
- The leaves are arranged so that each pair is situated perpendicular to the axis of the preceding leaves.
- The transmitted beam consists only of photons with the perpendicular polarisation.
- We make sure our horizontal strokes precede our perpendicular.
Longman Language Activatorstanding, pointing, or moving straight up or down► vertical
Phrases · The wallpaper has vertical pink and white stripes.· In some places the cliff was almost vertical, and much too dangerous to climb.· The vertical line on the graph represents the time taken, and the horizontal line represents the distance travelled.· a fairground ride that ends with a vertical drop of a hundred feet
► upright in a vertical position: sit/stand upright: · The ceiling was so low that he couldn't stand upright.hold/keep something upright: · Keep the bottle upright, in case it leaks.· She sat quietly, her violin held upright in her lap.
► straight up in a vertical direction, into or towards the sky: point/rise/travel etc straight up: · The rocket shot straight up and exploded overhead.· The towers of the hospital rose straight up from the edge of the highway.· A thin crack running straight up the wall had appeared.· At this point, the base of the golf club should point straight up into the air.
► perpendicular perfectly vertical in relation to the ground, or in relation to another line - used especially in technical contexts: · Behind them, there was a perpendicular wall of rock.· Ensure that the plumbline is perpendicular before you start to draw the line.perpendicular to (=at an angle of 90 degrees to another line or surface): · In a graph, the x-axis is perpendicular to the y-axis.
► erect in a very straight, stiff, vertical position: · The headstones were all erect and orderly.· The rabbit looked all around, with its ears erect.sit/stand/walk etc erect: · The magistrate sat there, stern and erect, as the charge was read out.· She holds her head erect, with her blonde curls falling down her back.
► sheer a sheer surface or slope is very steep, almost vertical: sheer cliff/drop/slope etc: · The coastguard patrols paths at the top of high and sheer cliffs. · I stood at the edge of the old chalk quarry, with a sheer drop of ten or twenty metres below me.
WORD SETS► Agricultureagrarian, adjectiveagribusiness, nounagro-, prefixagro-industry, nounanimal husbandry, nounanimal rights, nounartificial insemination, nounbale, nounbale, verbbarn, nounbarnyard, nounbattery, nounbiotechnology, nounbreadbasket, nounbreed, verbbreeding, nounbroiler, nounbroiler chicken, nounBSE, nounbuckaroo, nounbull, nounbutcher, verbbyre, nouncapon, nouncattleman, nouncattle market, nouncattle prod, nounchaff, nounchicken, nounchicken run, nouncollective farm, nouncoop, nounco-op, nouncorral, nouncorral, verbcowboy, nouncowgirl, nouncowhand, nouncowpoke, nouncreamery, nouncroft, nouncrofter, nouncrofting, nouncultivate, verbcultivation, noundairy, noundairy cattle, noundairy farm, noundairymaid, noundairyman, nounDDT, noundip, verbdip, noundirt farmer, noundrover, noundry-stone wall, noundude ranch, nounDutch barn, nounextensive agriculture, factory farming, nounfallow, adjectivefarm, nounfarm, verbfarmer, nounfarmhand, nounfarmhouse, nounfarming, nounfarmland, nounfarmstead, nounfarmyard, nounfeedstock, nounfield, nounfishery, nounfish farm, nounfish meal, nounflail, verbflail, nounfleece, nounfodder, nounfold, nounfoot and mouth disease, nounforage, nounfowl, nounfree-range, adjectivefungicide, noungamekeeper, noungeld, verbgenetically modified, adjectivegentleman farmer, nounGM, adjectivegoatherd, noungraft, noungraft, verbgranary, noungreenhouse, noungreen revolution, nounGreen Revolution, nounhacienda, nounharrow, nounhatchery, nounhayloft, nounhaymaking, nounhaystack, nounheifer, nounhen house, nounherbicide, nounherd, nounherd, verbherdsman, nounhigh-yield, adjectivehired hand, nounhomestead, nounhomestead, verbhopper, nounhorticulture, nounhusbandry, nounhutch, nouninsecticide, nounintensive agriculture, irrigate, verbJersey, nounkibbutz, nounlamb, verbland agent, nounlasso, nounlasso, verblift, verblitter, nounlivestock, nounlonghorn, nounmad cow disease, nounmanure, nounmeat, nounmerino, nounmilk, nounmilk churn, nounmilking machine, nounmilking parlour, nounmilkmaid, nounmixed farming, nounmower, nounmuck, nounmuckheap, nounnursery, nounoast house, nounorangery, nounorchard, nounorganic, adjectiveorganic farming, paddock, nounpaddy, nounpasturage, nounpasture, nounpasture, verbpastureland, nounpen, nounperpendicular, adjectivepest, nounpesticide, nounpiggery, nounpigpen, nounpigsty, nounpigswill, nounpitchfork, nounplantation, nounplanter, nounplough, nounplough, verbploughboy, nounploughman, nounploughshare, nounpoultry, nounproducer, nounpullet, nounPYO, raise, verbranch, nounrancher, nounranching, nounrange, nounranger, nounrear, verbrick, nounrubber, nounrun, nounrustle, verbscarecrow, nounscythe, nounsharecropper, nounshare-cropper, nounshear, verbshearer, nounsheep-dip, nounsheepdog, nounsheep-pen, nounshepherd, nounshepherdess, nounsickle, nounsilage, nounsilo, nounslaughter, verbslaughterhouse, nounsmallholding, nounsow, verbsow, nounsprayer, nounstable, nounstable, verbstable boy, nounstall, nounstation, nounsteer, nounstock, nounstockbreeder, nounstockman, nounstockyard, nounstubble, nounsty, nounswill, nounswine, nounswineherd, nountenant farmer, nounterrace, nounthresh, verbthreshing machine, nountractor, nountrough, nountruck farm, nountrue, adverbudder, nounvillein, nounvineyard, nounweedkiller, nounweevil, nounwheat, nounwheatgerm, nounwheatmeal, nounwinnow, verbwool, nounwrangler, nounyoke, nounyoke, verb
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► be perpendicular to something► Perpendicular
1not leaning to one side or the other but exactly vertical → vertical, horizontal: - The viewpoint is perpendicular to the orbital plane.
- This shows the simple case of a spin axis which is perpendicular to the line of sight.
a perpendicular line a perpendicular wall of rock2be perpendicular to something if one line is perpendicular to another line, they form an angle of 90 degrees SYN at right angles to: a road perpendicular to the highway3Perpendicular in the style of 14th- and 15th-century English churches, which are decorated with straight upright lines—perpendicularly adverbperpendicular1 adjectiveperpendicular2 noun
perpendicularperpendicular2 noun [singular] word setsWORD SETS► Maths
an exactly vertical position or lineabacus, nounalgebra, nounangle, nounarc, nounarea, nounarithmetic, nounarithmetic, adjectivearithmetic progression, nounaxis, nounbar chart, nounbar graph, nounbase, nounbinomial, nounbisect, verbBoolean, adjectiveC, nouncalculator, nouncalculus, nouncanonical, adjectivechord, nouncipher, nouncircumference, nouncircumscribe, verbcompass, nouncomplementary, adjectivecomputation, nouncompute, verbconcentric, adjectivecone, nouncongruent, adjectiveconical, adjectiveconstant, nouncontain, verbcoordinate, nouncoordinate, adjectivecos, cosine, nouncube, nouncubic, adjectivecurvature, nouncurve, nouncut, verbdeci-, prefixdeviation, noundiagonal, adjectivediameter, noundifferential calculus, noundigit, noundimension, noundomain, nouneccentric, adjectiveellipse, nounelliptical, adjectiveequal, adjectiveequal, verbequals sign, nounequation, nounequilateral triangle, nounexponential, adjectiveexpress, verbexpression, nounface, nounfigure, nounflow chart, nounformula, nounfraction, nounfractional, adjectivefunction, noungeometric, adjectivegeometry, noungraph, noungraphically, adverbgraph paper, noungrid, nounHCF, helix, nounheptagon, nounhexagon, nounhistogram, nounhypotenuse, nounimperial, adjectiveimproper fraction, nouninfinity, nouninformation theory, nouninnumerate, adjectiveinto, prepositioninverse, adjectiveisosceles triangle, nounline graph, log, nounlogarithm, nounlong division, nounlozenge, nounmath, nounmathematical, adjectivemathematician, nounmathematics, nounmatrix, nounmean, adjectivemedian, nounmedian, adjectivemetric, adjectiveminus, prepositionminus, nounminus, adjectiveminus sign, nounminute, nounmultiplication, nounmultiplication sign, nounmultiplication table, nounmultiply, verbN, nounnumber, nounnumerate, adjectivenumeration, nounoblong, adjectiveobtuse angle, nounoctagon, nounoval, nounparabola, nounparallel, adjectiveparallelogram, nounpentagon, nounpercentage, nounperimeter, nounperpendicular, nounpi, nounpictogram, nounpie chart, nounplane, nounplane geometry, nounplus, prepositionplus, nounplus, adjectiveplus sign, nounpolygon, nounpolyhedron, nounpower, nounprism, nounprobability, nounproof, nounproportion, nounproposition, nounprotractor, nounquadrangle, nounquadrant, nounquadratic equation, nounquadri-, prefixquadrilateral, nounradius, nounratio, nounrectangle, nounrectilinear, adjectiverecur, verbrhombus, nounright angle, nounright-angled triangle, nounroot, nounruler, nounscale, nounscalene triangle, nounscatter diagram, section, nounsegment, nounsemicircle, nounset square, nounsine, nounslide rule, nounsolid, adjectivesolid, nounsolution, nounsolve, verbsphere, nounsquare, adjectivesquare, nounsquare, verbsquare, adverbsquarely, adverbsquare root, nounsubset, nounsubtract, verbsubtraction, nounsum, nounsurface area, nounsymmetrical, adjectivesymmetry, nountangent, nounterm, nountheorem, nounthreefold, adjectivetimes, prepositiontrapezium, nountriangle, nountrigonometry, nountwo-dimensional, adjectivevalue, nounvariable, nounvector, nounVenn diagram, nounvertex, nounvertical, adjectivevolume, nounwork, verbX, nounx-axis, nouny-axis, noun