diagonal

American  

[dahy-ag-uh-nl, -ag-nl] / daɪˈæg ə nl, -ˈæg nl /

adjective

1. Mathematics.

   1. connecting two nonadjacent angles or vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, as a straight line.

   2. extending from one edge of a solid figure to an opposite edge, as a plane.

2. having an oblique direction.

3. having oblique lines, ridges, markings, etc.

---

noun

• diagonals
  plural

1. a diagonal line or plane.

2. virgule.

3. a diagonal row, part, pattern, etc.

4. Manège. (of a horse at a trot) the foreleg and the hind leg, diagonally opposite, which move forward simultaneously.

5. diagonal cloth.

6. Mathematics. a set of entries in a square matrix running either from upper left to lower right main diagonal, or principal diagonal or lower left to upper right secondary diagonal.

7. Chess. one of the oblique lines of squares on a chessboard.

   He advanced his bishop along the open diagonal.

diagonal British  

/ daɪˈæɡənəl /

adjective

1. maths connecting any two vertices that in a polygon are not adjacent and in a polyhedron are not in the same face

2. slanting; oblique

3. marked with slanting lines or patterns

---

noun

1. maths a diagonal line or plane

2. chess any oblique row of squares of the same colour

3. cloth marked or woven with slanting lines or patterns

4. something put, set, or drawn obliquely

5. another name for solidus

6. one front leg and the hind leg on the opposite side of a horse, which are on the ground together when the horse is trotting

diagonal Scientific  

/ dī-ăg′ə-nəl /

1. Connecting two nonadjacent corners in a polygon or two nonadjacent corners in a polyhedron that do not lie in the same face.

---

1. A diagonal line segment.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondiagonal
  adjective
• diagonally
  adverb
• nondiagonally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• diagonals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of diagonal

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin diagōnālis, from Greek diagṓn(ios) “from angle to angle” + Latin -ālis adjective suffix; see dia-, -gon, -al ¹

Explanation

A diagonal is made out of a straight line that's set at an angle instead of straight up or across. If you picture a square and draw a line connecting the opposite corners, that’s a diagonal line. You’ll find diagonal lines in geometry, and also in the world around you. A quarterback might throw a diagonal pass that angles across the field, or you might buy a snazzy new leotard with diagonal stripes. Diagonal can be either a noun or an adjective. You could call the steep slope of a hill a diagonal across the sky, or you could talk about the diagonal hillside reaching up toward the clouds.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diagonal diagonals

That would give De Zerbi another route against deep defensive blocks, through diagonal passes, back-post crosses or more direct balls when opponents restrict Spurs' build-up play.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Ms. Stevens, who spent the campaign avoiding the subject of Mr. El-Sayed’s not-quite-spoken animus, last week ventured a diagonal allusion to it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Walking in these diagonal directions, as well as 5 feet in the straight compass directions, shows that many pairs of dots on this giant chessboard are exactly 5 feet apart.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026

SpotGamma explains that a put diagonal spread combines the sale of a shorter-dated put with the purchase of a longer-dated put at a different strike price.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

The simplest was a three-by-three square, with the numbers 1 to 9 arranged so that every row, column and diagonal added up to 15.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

For once there was a justification for Mr. Koolhaas’s sportive diagonals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

Opposing diagonals of the room and the opened right-hand window meet at a pointed angle where René stands, placing him smack at the center of a jutting space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025

He will sit deep when required and push high when he can; will play neat possession football in some fixtures and tell his players to hit longer diagonals out to the wide men in others.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024

With the help of a local sign painter, she spent three days creating enormous spatial illusions: bold diagonals, circles, arrows, letters and blocks of bull’s-eye colors.

From New York Times ● May 8, 2024

The two diagonals of the words “tres important” and “faire suivre” meet on the envelope at a point, an arrowhead—giving an impression of flight, purpose, urgency—or an impending wound.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• crosswise
• oblique
• slanted