vertical
Americanadjective
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being in a position or direction perpendicular to the plane of the horizon; upright; plumb.
- Antonyms:
- horizontal
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of, relating to, or situated at the vertex.
-
of or relating to the cranial vertex.
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Botany.
-
(of a leaf ) having the blade in a perpendicular plane, so that neither of the surfaces can be called upper or lower.
-
being in the same direction as the axis; lengthwise.
-
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of, constituting, or resulting in vertical combination.
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of or relating to a product or service from initial planning to sale.
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of, relating to, or noting a stratified society, nation, etc.
noun
-
verticals
plural
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something vertical, as a line or plane.
-
a vertical or upright position.
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a vertical structural member in a truss.
adjective
-
at right angles to the horizon; perpendicular; upright Compare horizontal
a vertical wall
-
extending in a perpendicular direction
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at or in the vertex or zenith; directly overhead
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economics of or relating to associated or consecutive, though not identical, stages of industrial activity
vertical integration
vertical amalgamation
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of or relating to the vertex
-
anatomy of, relating to, or situated at the top of the head (vertex)
noun
-
a vertical plane, position, or line
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a vertical post, pillar, or other structural member
Synonym Usage
See upright.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonverticalitynoun
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nonverticalnessnoun
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subverticalnessnoun
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verticalismnoun
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verticalitynoun
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verticalnessnoun
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nonverticaladjective
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subverticaladjective
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unverticaladjective
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nonverticallyadverb
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subverticallyadverb
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unverticallyadverb
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verticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vertical
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin verticālis, equivalent to vertic- (stem of vertex ) vertex + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Vertical describes something that rises straight up from a horizontal line or plane. A telephone pole or a tree can usually be described as vertical in relation to the ground. The walls of your house — unless there's some terrible problem — are vertical. They rise straight up from the foundation, at a ninety degree angle. When you're standing up, you're vertical, as opposed to when you lie down in a horizontal position on the couch. The terms vertical and horizontal often describe directions: a vertical line goes up and down, and a horizontal line goes across. You can remember which direction is vertical by the letter, "v," which points down.
Vocabulary lists containing vertical
Expressions and Equations
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Geometry - Introductory
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The Number System
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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.
See Examples For:
The draft plan, which largely applies to new venues, seeks to “reduce the extent of or remove opportunities for vertical drinking.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The very first thing I saw there was an anime-style vertical video whose characters barely moved their lips and ended the whole thing with a verbatim “To Be Continue .. ” title card.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
They showed significant deterioration in several measures, including elevator and aileron control, landing accuracy and vertical and lateral deviation on approach.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Wisk got its start as a joint venture between Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk Corp. and has flown six generations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"Learn to make a plus sign so that both the vertical and horizontal strokes are the same thickness. That is your second lesson. You can practice as soon as you buy your materials."
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
These new verticals have much more promising prospects than cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The deal includes New York Magazine’s popular verticals like The Cut, Vulture and Intelligencer, as well as Vox’s most successful podcasts like “Today, Explained” and “Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
The company’s investments this year will focus on creating an integrated global technology platform, building new products and verticals, and expanding the geographic footprint, according to the analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
“When people spend more days in a month with us across more moments, more devices and more verticals, it proves our product is working.”
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
From e draw eV1, eV2, from the other angles raise verticals bf, dh, cg, to meet eV1, eV2, fV2, &c., and the cube is complete.
From The Theory and Practice of Perspective by G. A. (George Adolphus) Storey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
