radial

[rey-dee-uhl]

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.

noun

1. a radial section or construction.

2. Automotive.,  radial tire.

radial

/ 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

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

• radiality noun
• radially adverb
• multiradial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of radial¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of radial¹

C16: from Medieval Latin radiālis from _radius

Example Sentences

These variations can imitate the subtle radial velocity signals astronomers look for, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether a planet is truly present.

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Across America, ophthalmologists rediscovered an obscure and risky procedure called radial keratotomy, and there was a boom in surgery to correct small impairments of vision.

Read more on Literature

The playa is arranged as a semicircle, and radial streets are named as if their position were a clock face.

Read more on Salon

In addition to a rainbow of radial lasers, a brilliant column of light shoots into the sky, à la the Sacramento Kings’ beam.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One of the four sub-Earth exoplanets discovered is the least massive world ever found using the radial velocity technique.

Read more on Space Scoop