radial

American  

[ray-dee-uhl] / ˈreɪ di əl /

adjective

1. arranged like radii or rays.

2. having spokes, bars, lines, etc., arranged like radii, as a machine.

3. made in the direction of a radius; going from the center outward or from the circumference inward along a radius.

   a radial cut.

4. Zoology. pertaining to structures that radiate from a central point, as the arms of a starfish.

5. of, like, or pertaining to a radius or a ray.

6. Machinery.

   1. having pistons moving inward and outward from a central point or shaft.

      a radial engine; a radial pump.

   2. noting a bearing designed primarily to take thrusts radial to the center of rotation.

7. Anatomy, Entomology. of, relating to, or situated near the radius.

8. acting along or in the direction of the radius of a circle.

   radial motion; radial velocity.

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noun

• radials
  plural

1. a radial section or construction.

2. Automotive. radial tire.

radial British  

/ ˈreɪdɪəl /

adjective

1. (of lines, bars, beams of light, etc) emanating from a common central point; arranged like the radii of a circle

2. of, like, or relating to a radius or ray

3. spreading out or developing uniformly on all sides

4. of or relating to the arms of a starfish or similar radiating structures

5. anatomy of or relating to the radius or forearm

6. astronomy (of velocity) in a direction along the line of sight of a celestial object and measured by means of the red shift (or blue shift) of the spectral lines of the object Compare tangential

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noun

1. a radial part or section

2. zoology

   1. any of the basal fin rays of most bony fishes

   2. a radial or radiating structure, such as any of the ossicles supporting the oral disc of a sea star

3. short for radial tyre radial drilling machine

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• radiality
  noun
• multiradial
  adjective
• radially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• radials
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of radial

1560–70; < Medieval Latin radiālis, equivalent to Latin radi ( us ) beam, ray ( see radius) + -ālis -al ¹

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Explanation

Radial things stick out from a center point or have to do with the radius of a circle. On a map, you can see that a traffic circle or roundabout consists of radial streets extending out from the center. A radius is a line from the center of a circle to its edge, or circumference. The adjective radial describes anything that acts as a radius or resembles one — often something radial is literally a line sticking straight out from a center point. Radial tires are designed so that each individual rubber cord making up the tire's surface lies in a radial direction from the middle of the tire. In Latin, radius means "shaft" or "spoke of a wheel."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

radial radials

That’s where the group’s volunteers work in concert with Southern California Gas crews patching the scores of potholes created by extreme nature, not by radial tires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Spectroscopy also allowed the team to measure the object's radial velocity, which describes its motion toward or away from the observer.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Although it is located only 25 light-years away, astronomers needed 27 years after first detecting its radial wobble to identify the hidden white dwarf.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

The Warwick team, working with astronomers from the University of Colorado Boulder in the US, was interested in the four nearby systems because of a "substantial radial wobble".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

His mouth filled with frothy saliva; no perceptible pulsations in the radial artery; but little external heat and very imperfect respiration.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Typically the end of the pectoral fin skeleton contains small bones called radials that support the rodlike fin rays.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2020

The book focusses on six designs: arcs or waves, meanders, spirals, radials or explosions, cells and networks, and fractals.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 3, 2019

The federal government poured money into the brand new interstate system, encouraging radials, arteries and thoroughfares through dense urban neighbourhoods.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2018

In the deep violet light at 70 feet, the sight is shocking: steel-belted radials covering an area the size of 27 football fields.

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2016

The radial spines are somewhat variable in relative length, often becoming almost equal, while sometimes the upper radials are very much reduced.

From North American Species of Cactus by John Merle Coulter

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