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.
-
-
of, constituting, or resulting in vertical combination.
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of or relating to a product or service from initial planning to sale.
-
of, relating to, or noting a stratified society, nation, etc.
noun
-
something vertical, as a line or plane.
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a vertical or upright position.
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a vertical structural member in a truss.
adjective
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at right angles to the horizon; perpendicular; upright Compare horizontal
a vertical wall
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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
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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
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.
The car crashed into a fence, then smashed into the house’s front porch and came to rest in a vertical position on the steps, according to authorities and video from the scene.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
In a slide titled “WHY WE WIN,” SpaceX boasts of its “incredibly difficult to replicate” business models and “extreme vertical integration.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
“Anytime you see parabolic moves or linear vertical moves, that’s telling you that it’s less about a sober assessment of a company’s prospects on a straight valuation basis than it is about people chasing momentum.”
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
It's the familiar format you'll recognise from many social media platforms: full-screen, vertical and easy to scroll through.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
He stopped the car, and I could see that the edge of the road bordered a vertical slope that crumbled into vacancy, a fall of perhaps two thousand feet.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
