neutral axis

American  

noun

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

---

neutral axis British  

noun

1. 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

---

Etymology

Origin of neutral axis

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

The team's most important advance was finding a way to define the neutral axis using only the geometry of the color metric.

From Science Daily • Jun. 7, 2026

Without a precise definition of the neutral axis, the entire construction was formally incomplete.

From Science Daily • Jun. 7, 2026

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

This is the so-called neutral axis of the bar of glass, and along it you see a dark band, indicating that the glass along this axis exercises no action upon the light.

From Six Lectures on Light Delivered In The United States In 1872-1873 by Tyndall, John