neutral axis

American

noun

an imaginary line in the cross section of a beam, shaft, or the like, along which no stresses occur.

neutral axis British

noun

engineering the line or plane through the section of a beam or plate which does not suffer extension or compression when the beam or plate bends

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of neutral axis

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A key issue centered on the neutral axis, the line of gray tones that runs from black to white.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

One of the team's most important achievements was establishing the neutral axis purely from the geometry of the color metric.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

Without that definition, the structure of the model lacks formal grounding: Without a defined neutral axis, the construction is formally undefined.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

Also, while the overall weight of the club is light, the internal weight is shifted forward to keep the center of gravity in line with the head’s neutral axis for reducing overall spin.

From Golf Digest • Dec. 10, 2019

The first illustration of an orange filled with color was chosen for the purpose of stimulating the imagination to follow a surface color inward to the neutral axis by regular decrease of chroma.

From A Color Notation A measured color system, based on the three qualities Hue, Value and Chroma by Munsell, A. H. (Albert Henry)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023