per·pen·dic·u·lar
ˌpər-pən-ˈdi-kyə-lər 
1
a
: standing at right angles to the plane of the horizon : exactly upright
b
: being at right angles to a given line or plane
2
: extremely steep : precipitous
3
often capitalized
: of or relating to a medieval English Gothic style of architecture in which vertical lines predominate
4
: relating to, uniting, or consisting of individuals of dissimilar type or on different levels
: a line at right angles to a line or plane (as of the horizon)
Synonyms
Examples of perpendicular in a Sentence
Adjective
She lives on the street that is perpendicular to mine.
river rafters staring awestruck at the canyon's nearly perpendicular cliffs
Recent Examples on the Web
Rhett Allain, WIRED, 27 Sep. 2024
Europa Clipper’s radar antenna, which sits perpendicular to the solar wings, adds more size still, rising 57.7 ft. from the body of the spacecraft.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 July 2024
Water can return to sea via a rip current, a narrow jet of water moving away from shore perpendicular to the shoreline.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for perpendicular 
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Adjective
And here's the even weirder part: The direction of this magnetic force, shown by the F arrow below, is perpendicular to the direction of the particle's velocity (qv) and the direction of the magnetic field (B).
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 27 Sep. 2024
Europa Clipper’s radar antenna, which sits perpendicular to the solar wings, adds more size still, rising 57.7 ft. from the body of the spacecraft.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
Noun
By turning this new structure perpendicular to existing Omega buildings, Ban created a new public square, aptly named Omega Plaza.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 July 2024
Water can return to sea via a rip current, a narrow jet of water moving away from shore perpendicular to the shoreline.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for perpendicular
Dictionary Entries Near perpendicular
Cite this Entry
“Perpendicular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perpendicular. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perpendicular
1 of 2 adjective
per·pen·dic·u·lar
ˌpər-pən-ˈdik-yə-lər
1
: exactly vertical or upright
2
: forming a right angle with each other or with a given line or plane
perpendicularly
adverb
perpendicular
2 of 2 noun
: a perpendicular line
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