adjacent
Americanadjective
-
lying near, close, or contiguous; adjoining; neighboring.
a motel adjacent to the highway.
- Synonyms:
- touching
- Antonyms:
- distant
-
just before, after, or facing.
a map on an adjacent page.
-
(used in combination)
-
related or very close to a specified topic, activity, etc..
While the comment was not outright racist, it was racist-adjacent.
-
supporting or being an ally of a group or subculture without being a part of it.
She describes herself as queer-adjacent.
-
having the traits or interests of a group or subculture without being a part of it.
Are they full-on geeks or just nerd-adjacent?
-
adjective
-
being near or close, esp having a common boundary; adjoining; contiguous
-
maths
-
(of a pair of vertices in a graph) joined by a common edge
-
(of a pair of edges in a graph) meeting at a common vertex
-
noun
Synonym Usage
See adjoining.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adjacent
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin adjacent- (stem of adjacēns, present participle of adjacēre “to adjoin”), equivalent to ad- “toward” ( see ad-) + jac- “lie” + -ent- adjective suffix ( see -ent)
Explanation
Adjacent means close to or near something. You may consider the people up and down your street to be neighbors, but your next-door neighbor is the person who lives in the house or apartment adjacent to yours. Adjacent can refer to two things that touch each other or have the same wall or border. And the adjective is often followed by the preposition to: Her office is adjacent to mine. This word is from Latin adjacere "to lie near," from the prefix ad- "to" plus jacere "to lie, throw."
Vocabulary lists containing adjacent
30 GRE Words Beginning with "A"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Westing Game
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Chemical attacks are often the work of a disgruntled employee or possibly an adjacent property owner, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Your age, the size of your residence and the number of people living there should all factor in, she theorizes, with some extra leeway for those working in or adjacent to the book trade.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
There’s a park by that name in the community of Fawnskin adjacent to Big Bear Lake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The Post however reported a project cost of at least double -- $13 million -- which also includes renovations of the South Portico and adjacent driveway.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
The noise is hidden by the sound of a sawmill adjacent to the house.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
