vertical

American  

[vur-ti-kuhl] / ˈvɜr tɪ kəl /

adjective

1. being in a position or direction perpendicular to the plane of the horizon; upright; plumb.

   Antonyms:

   horizontal

2. of, relating to, or situated at the vertex.

3. of or relating to the cranial vertex.

4. Botany.

   1. (of a leaf ) having the blade in a perpendicular plane, so that neither of the surfaces can be called upper or lower.

   2. being in the same direction as the axis; lengthwise.

5. of, constituting, or resulting in vertical combination.

6. of or relating to a product or service from initial planning to sale.

7. of, relating to, or noting a stratified society, nation, etc.

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noun

• verticals
  plural

1. something vertical, as a line or plane.

2. a vertical or upright position.

3. a vertical structural member in a truss.

vertical British  

/ ˌvɜːtɪˈkælɪtɪ, ˈvɜːtɪkəl /

adjective

1. at right angles to the horizon; perpendicular; upright Compare horizontal

   a vertical wall

2. extending in a perpendicular direction

3. at or in the vertex or zenith; directly overhead

4. economics of or relating to associated or consecutive, though not identical, stages of industrial activity

   vertical integration

   vertical amalgamation

5. of or relating to the vertex

6. anatomy of, relating to, or situated at the top of the head (vertex)

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noun

1. a vertical plane, position, or line

2. a vertical post, pillar, or other structural member

Synonym Usage

See upright.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonverticality
  noun
• nonverticalness
  noun
• subverticalness
  noun
• verticalism
  noun
• verticality
  noun
• verticalness
  noun
• nonvertical
  adjective
• subvertical
  adjective
• unvertical
  adjective
• nonvertically
  adverb
• subvertically
  adverb
• unvertically
  adverb
• vertically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• verticals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vertical

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin verticālis, equivalent to vertic- (stem of vertex ) vertex + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Vertical describes something that rises straight up from a horizontal line or plane. A telephone pole or a tree can usually be described as vertical in relation to the ground. The walls of your house — unless there's some terrible problem — are vertical. They rise straight up from the foundation, at a ninety degree angle. When you're standing up, you're vertical, as opposed to when you lie down in a horizontal position on the couch. The terms vertical and horizontal often describe directions: a vertical line goes up and down, and a horizontal line goes across. You can remember which direction is vertical by the letter, "v," which points down.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vertical verticals

The very first thing I saw there was an anime-style vertical video whose characters barely moved their lips and ended the whole thing with a verbatim “To Be Continue .. ” title card.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

“What we’re seeing is as users are engaging with their vertical video experience, they are actually engaging in the overall product experience, double the amount of time,” she said onstage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

For decades, mathematicians have tried to prove the Riemann hypothesis, which says that 100% of the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function fall on a single vertical line.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration launched a pilot program for electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL, in March.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Heavyset Mafoday, whose vertical jump was perhaps three inches, dove and made the stop.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

These new verticals have much more promising prospects than cars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

For the time being, growth in certain business verticals is helping SLB offset weakness in its more pressured segments.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

The company’s investments this year will focus on creating an integrated global technology platform, building new products and verticals, and expanding the geographic footprint, according to the analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

“IP is at the center” — that’s short for intellectual property — “and then they can go execute across all the verticals, whether it’s experiential, merchandise, licensing, films, music, all of it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

The devices which aid the figure painter in disposing of one or many verticals have been briefly viewed.

From Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures by Henry Rankin Poore

Related Words

• perpendicular
• steep