transverse

American  

[trans-vurs, tranz-, trans-vurs, tranz-] / trænsˈvɜrs, trænz-, ˈtræns vɜrs, ˈtrænz- /

adjective

1. lying or extending across or in a cross direction; cross.

2. (of a flute) having a mouth hole in the side of the tube, near its end, across which the player's breath is directed.

3. (of an automotive engine) mounted with the crankshaft oriented sideways.

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noun

1. something that is transverse.

2. Nautical. web frame.

3. Geometry. transverse axis.

4. a city road that cuts through a park or other area of light traffic; shortcut.

transverse British  

/ trænzˈvɜːs /

adjective

1. crossing from side to side; athwart; crossways

2. geometry denoting the axis that passes through the foci of a hyperbola

3. (of a flute, etc) held almost at right angles to the player's mouth, so that the breath passes over a hole in the side to create a vibrating air column within the tube of the instrument

4. astronomy another word for tangential

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noun

1. a transverse piece or object

Other Word Forms

• subtransverse adjective
• subtransversely adverb
• transversely adverb
• transverseness noun

Etymology

Origin of transverse

First recorded in 1610–20, transverse is from the Latin word trānsversus going or lying across, athwart. See traverse

Explanation

If something is transverse it goes sideways or at an angle. You might take a transverse path cutting across the park — it's a short cut if you're in a hurry, because you don't have to walk the entire length. First used in the 1590s, the adjective transverse comes from the Latin word transvertere, which combines the prefix trans-, meaning "across," and vertere, meaning "to turn." Something that's transverse cuts across something. A doctor may make a transverse incision into a patient's abdomen during an appendectomy. Set between two buildings, a dark alley is transverse to the bustling city street.

Example Sentences

The team found that large crystals governed by transverse interactions tend to break down into smaller spinning units, while smaller crystals grow until reaching a specific critical size.

From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025

One tabulation of the cost to double the number of buses so fans can better transverse the city on public transit is estimated at upward of $1 billion.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2024

Cashore spelled it correctly, then clinched the title with the word “transept,” an architectural term for the transverse part of a cross-shaped church.

From Seattle Times • May 31, 2024

The effect is based on tiny transverse temperature differences that occur when a thermal current is passed through a sample and a perpendicular magnetic field is applied.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024

Longstreet, who had invented a transverse trench which no one would use, filed the matter forcefully in the dark cavern of his swelling brain and rode into camp.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• across
• cross
• transversal