[syn: vertical, perpendicular]
3. extremely steep;
- Example: "the great perpendicular face of the cliff"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Perpendicular \Per`pen*dic"u*lar\, a. [L. perpendicularis,
perpendicularius: cf. F. perpendiculaire. See Perpendicle,
Pension.]
1. Exactly upright or vertical; pointing to the zenith; at
right angles to the plane of the horizon; extending in a
right line from any point toward the center of the earth.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Geom.) At right angles to a given line or surface; as,
the line ad is perpendicular to the line bc.
[1913 Webster]
Perpendicular style (Arch.), a name given to the latest
variety of English Gothic architecture, which prevailed
from the close of the 14th century to the early part of
the 16th; -- probably so called from the vertical style of
its window mullions.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Perpendicular \Per`pen*dic"u*lar\, n.
1. A line at right angles to the plane of the horizon; a
vertical line or direction.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Geom.) A line or plane falling at right angles on another
line or surface, or making equal angles with it on each
side.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
perpendicular
adj 1: intersecting at or forming right angles; "the axes are
perpendicular to each other" [ant: oblique, parallel]
2: at right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line;
"a vertical camera angle"; "the monument consists of two
vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab"; "measure the
perpendicular height" [syn: vertical, perpendicular]
[ant: horizontal, inclined]
3: extremely steep; "the great perpendicular face of the cliff"
n 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 [syn: perpendicular, perpendicular
style, English-Gothic, English-Gothic architecture]
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 [syn: plumb line,
perpendicular]
4: an extremely steep face
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
49 Moby Thesaurus words for "perpendicular":
air line, axis, azimuth circle, beeline, chord, diagonal, diameter,
direct line, directrix, edge, erect, great-circle course, normal,
orthodiagonal, orthogonal, orthometric, plumb, plunging,
precipitous, radius, radius vector, rectangular, right angle,
right line, right-angle, right-angled, right-angular, secant,
segment, sheer, shortcut, side, stand-up, steep, straight,
straight course, straight line, straight stretch, straight-up,
straight-up-and-down, straightaway, streamline, tangent,
transversal, up-and-down, upright, vector, vertical,
vertical circle