PERPENDICULAR
Dictionary entry overview: What does perpendicular mean?
• PERPENDICULAR (noun)
The noun PERPENDICULAR has 4 senses:
1. a straight line at right angles to another line
2. a Gothic style in 14th and 15th century England; characterized by vertical lines and a four-centered (Tudor) arch and fan vaulting
3. a cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth's center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point
4. an extremely steep face
Familiarity information: PERPENDICULAR used as a noun is uncommon.
• PERPENDICULAR (adjective)
The adjective PERPENDICULAR has 3 senses:
1. intersecting at or forming right angles
2. at right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line
3. extremely steep
Familiarity information: PERPENDICULAR used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• PERPENDICULAR (noun)
Meaning:
A straight line at right angles to another line
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("perpendicular" is a kind of...):
straight line (a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature)
Meaning:
A Gothic style in 14th and 15th century England; characterized by vertical lines and a four-centered (Tudor) arch and fan vaulting
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
perpendicular style; English-Gothic architecture; English-Gothic; perpendicular
Hypernyms ("perpendicular" is a kind of...):
Gothic; Gothic architecture (a style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries; characterized by slender vertical piers and counterbalancing buttresses and by vaulting and pointed arches)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "perpendicular"):
Tudor architecture (a style of English-Gothic architecture popular during the Tudor period; characterized by half-timbered houses)
Meaning:
A cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth's center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Synonyms:
plumb line; perpendicular
Hypernyms ("perpendicular" is a kind of...):
cord (a line made of twisted fibers or threads)
Meronyms (parts of "perpendicular"):
plumb; plumb bob; plummet (the metal bob of a plumb line)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "perpendicular"):
lead line; sounding line ((nautical) plumb line for determining depth)
plumb rule (a plumb line attached to a narrow board)
Meaning:
An extremely steep face
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("perpendicular" is a kind of...):
face (a vertical surface of a building or cliff)
• PERPENDICULAR (adjective)
Meaning:
Intersecting at or forming right angles
Context example:
the axes are perpendicular to each other
Similar:
normal (forming a right angle)
orthogonal; rectangular (having a set of mutually perpendicular axes; meeting at right angles)
right (having the axis perpendicular to the base)
Antonym:
oblique (slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled)
parallel (being everywhere equidistant and not intersecting)
Meaning:
At right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line
Synonyms:
vertical; perpendicular
Context examples:
a vertical camera angle / the monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab / measure the perpendicular height
Similar:
unsloped; upright (in a vertical position; not sloping)
plumb (exactly vertical)
upended (turned up on end)
Also:
straight (having no deviations)
steep (having a sharp inclination)
Attribute:
orientation (position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions)
Meaning:
Extremely steep
Context example:
the great perpendicular face of the cliff
Similar:
steep (having a sharp inclination)
