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• meridian
  meridian

  noun
• Meridian
  Meridian

  noun

  a city in E Mississippi.

meridian

¹ American  

[muh-rid-ee-uhn] / məˈrɪd i ən /

noun

meridians plural

1. Geography.

   1. a great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point on the earth's surface.

   2. the half of such a circle included between the poles.

2. Astronomy. the great circle of the celestial sphere that passes through its poles and the observer's zenith.

3. a point or period of highest development, greatest prosperity, or the like.

4. (in acupuncture) any of the pathways in the body along which vital energy flows.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a meridian.

2. of or relating to midday or noon.

   the meridian hour.

3. of or indicating a period of greatest prosperity, splendor, success, etc.

Meridian ² American  

[muh-rid-ee-uhn] / məˈrɪd i ən /

noun

1. a city in E Mississippi.

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meridian British  

/ məˈrɪdɪən /

noun

1. 1. one of the imaginary lines joining the north and south poles at right angles to the equator, designated by degrees of longitude from 0° at Greenwich to 180°

   2. the great circle running through both poles See prime meridian

2. astronomy

   1. the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the north and south celestial poles and the zenith and nadir of the observer

   2. ( as modifier )

      a meridian instrument

3. Also called: meridian section.  maths a section of a surface of revolution, such as a paraboloid, that contains the axis of revolution

4. the peak; zenith

   the meridian of his achievements

5. (in acupuncture, etc) any of the channels through which vital energy is believed to circulate round the body

6. obsolete noon

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adjective

1. along or relating to a meridian

2. of or happening at noon

3. relating to the peak of something

meridian Cultural  

1. A great imaginary circle on the surface of the Earth that runs north and south through the North Pole and South Pole. Longitude is measured on meridians: places on a meridian have the same longitude. (See prime meridian.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• meridians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meridian

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin merīdiānus of noon, equivalent to merīdi ( ēs ) midday (formed from the locative merīdiē at midday, by dissimilation < *medī diē; medius mid ¹, diēs day) + -ānus -an

Explanation

The word meridian describes a gigantic imaginary circle that runs north and south on the earth's surface, from the North Pole to the South Pole. If you stood on the meridian at the North Pole, you would be at the earth's northernmost point. Meridian can also refer to the highest stage of development. The meridian of your chess career may have been when you took out the champ from a rival school. Used as an adjective, meridian can describe something that's at the best stage of development. Your favorite skater was at his meridian form when he won the Olympic gold medal. Meridian can also describe something that takes place at noon, like your meridian boat voyage that launched precisely at noon.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meridian Meridian meridians

The route from New York to Istanbul to Santiago would have tacked on two unnecessary crossings of the prime meridian.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2024

Since early September, they had logged nearly 12,000 miles aboard the Offshore Surveyor, crisscrossing the equator near the 180th meridian.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2024

An image of Jupiter 30 minutes after it crossed the meridian was taken from Singapore by Marco Lorenzi.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023

The line, which for centuries has fallen roughly along the 100th meridian, has moved east by about 140 miles since the late 1800s.

From Scientific American ● May 11, 2023

In the very meridian of the night’s enjoyment, about an hour after tea, a rap was heard at the door.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Some of the renovations have been successful; fountains are running anew, including the long-dormant cascading water feature at the city’s popular Meridian Hill Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Analyst Vignesh Nair switches preference to Meridian Energy, noting its earnings growth leads the sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Fountains in Sheridan Circle, Meridian Park and Columbus Circle – among more than a dozen others - have been repaired.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

Bogdan fears that by cleaning up Meridian Hill Park -- which is managed and maintained by the National Park Service -- its history as a place of Black protest and community will be anesthetized.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

The news bulletin ends, and Spanish music from the Meridian Room returns to the air.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

“A central credo in TCM is that blockages in meridians lead to imbalances in health, including illness or pain,” Ko said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2024

"It's a mutual, joint-stock world, in all meridians," Ishmael imagines Queequeg saying at one point in the novel.

From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2021

Acupuncture’s specialized needle placements restore the balance of yin and yang by reducing disruptions along the meridians, improving the flow of qi and promoting healing.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021

The terrestrial poles, equator, and meridians will be projected as dark shadows on the celestial sphere, giving us the system of coordinates in the sky.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

Taisin remembered how it felt to bend the meridians of energy to her will: like she was invincible.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo