horizontal

American  

[hawr-uh-zon-tl, hor-] / ˌhɔr əˈzɒn tl, ˌhɒr- /

adjective

1. at right angles to the vertical; parallel to level ground.

2. flat or level.

   a horizontal position.

3. being in a prone or supine position; recumbent.

   His bad back has kept him horizontal for a week.

4. near, on, or parallel to the horizon.

5. of or relating to the horizon.

6. measured or contained in a plane parallel to the horizon.

   a horizontal distance.

7. (of material on a printed page, pieces on a game board, etc.) extending across, from the left to the right of the viewer.

8. of or relating to a position or individual of similar status.

   He received a horizontal promotion to a different department, retaining his old salary and title.

9. Economics. of or relating to companies, affiliates, divisions, etc., that perform the same or similar functions or produce the same or similar products.

   Through horizontal mergers the company monopolized its field.

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noun

1. anything horizontal, as a plane, direction, or object.

horizontal British  

/ ˌhɒrɪˈzɒntəl /

adjective

1. parallel to the plane of the horizon; level; flat Compare vertical

2. of or relating to the horizon

3. measured or contained in a plane parallel to that of the horizon

4. applied uniformly or equally to all members of a group

5. economics relating to identical stages of commercial activity

   horizontal integration

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noun

1. a horizontal plane, position, line, etc

Other Word Forms

• horizontality noun
• horizontally adverb
• horizontalness noun
• subhorizontal adjective
• subhorizontally adverb
• subhorizontalness noun
• unhorizontal adjective
• unhorizontally adverb

Etymology

Origin of horizontal

1545–55; < Latin horizont- (stem of horizōn ) horizon + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Plenty of you who regularly plunk down thousands for a business-class seat care about just one thing, of course: horizontal sleep.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nearly every horizontal surface in the room is coated with dust.

From Literature

These signals appear as very low frequency transients i.e. impulse like transition or settling signals recorded in horizontal ground motion, including both acceleration and tilt.

From Science Daily

There was a horizontal stripe down the shirt, she said.

From BBC

Military analysts call this kind of approach "horizontal escalation".

From Barron's