orthogonal
adjective
or·thog·o·nal ȯr-ˈthä-gə-nᵊl 
1
a
: intersecting or lying at right angles
In orthogonal cutting, the cutting edge is perpendicular to the direction of tool travel.
b
: having perpendicular slopes or tangents at the point of intersection
orthogonal curves
2
: having a sum of products or an integral (see integral entry 1 sense 1b) that is zero or sometimes one under specified conditions: such as
a
of real-valued functions : having the integral of the product of each pair of functions over a specific interval equal to zero
b
of vectors : having the scalar product equal to zero
c
of a square matrix : having the sum of products of corresponding elements in any two rows or any two columns equal to one if the rows or columns are the same and equal to zero otherwise : having a transpose with which the product equals the identity matrix
3
of a linear transformation : having a matrix (see matrix sense 5a) that is orthogonal : preserving length and distance
4
: composed of mutually orthogonal elements
an orthogonal basis of a vector space
5
: statistically independent
mental ability may be classified into several orthogonal … factors
O. D. Duncan
O. D. Duncan6
: orthographic sense 1
orthogonal projection
orthogonality
ȯr-ˌthä-gə-ˈna-lə-tē
noun orthogonally
ȯr-ˈthä-gə-nᵊl-ē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web In these two books, two members of ’80s and ’90s ACT UP New York, the grassroots AIDS advocacy group, write completely orthogonal works about the same time and movement. Joseph Osmundson, The Atlantic, 8 June 2022 This direction favors subsequent hydraulic fractures being orthogonal to the well. Ian Palmer, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Our approach is orthogonal to existing work that focuses on improving hardware and software efficiency. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2022 Wi-Fi 6 improves MU-MIMO and introduces OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) enabling a single transmission to deliver data to multiple devices at once. Simon Hill, Wired, 31 Jan. 2022 But anything that conducts an electric field also conducts a magnetic field in the orthogonal direction. James Conca, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 Each of those diverse ideas is loaded with preconceived notions, biases, tangential or orthogonal associations. Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 Shoup’s own project, called SuperPaint, was orthogonal to that effort, and not universally blessed. Steven Levy, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021 Relativity, a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, portrays a world with three orthogonal sources of gravity, in which people climb and descend stairwells that seem to go uphill both ways. Stephen Macknik, Scientific American, 1 May 2021 See More
Joseph Osmundson, The Atlantic, 8 June 2022 This direction favors subsequent hydraulic fractures being orthogonal to the well. Ian Palmer, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Our approach is orthogonal to existing work that focuses on improving hardware and software efficiency. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2022 Wi-Fi 6 improves MU-MIMO and introduces OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) enabling a single transmission to deliver data to multiple devices at once. Simon Hill, Wired, 31 Jan. 2022 But anything that conducts an electric field also conducts a magnetic field in the orthogonal direction. James Conca, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 Each of those diverse ideas is loaded with preconceived notions, biases, tangential or orthogonal associations. Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 Shoup’s own project, called SuperPaint, was orthogonal to that effort, and not universally blessed. Steven Levy, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021 Relativity, a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, portrays a world with three orthogonal sources of gravity, in which people climb and descend stairwells that seem to go uphill both ways. Stephen Macknik, Scientific American, 1 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle French, from Latin orthogonius, from Greek orthogōnios, from orth- + gōnia angle — more at -gon
First Known Use
circa 1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Medical Definition
orthogonal
adjective
or·thog·o·nal ȯr-ˈthäg-ən-ᵊl
1
a
: lying or intersecting at right angles
b
: being, using, or made with three ECG leads whose axes are perpendicular to each other and to the frontal, horizontal, and sagittal axes of the body
the three orthogonal leads were recorded simultaneously on magnetic tape Massoud Nemati et al.
Massoud Nemati et al.2
: statistically independent
mental ability may be classified into several orthogonal … factors O. D. Duncan
O. D. Duncan