y-axis
Americannoun
plural
y-axes-
Also called axis of ordinates. (in a plane Cartesian coordinate system) the axis, usually vertical, along which the ordinate is measured and from which the abscissa is measured.
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(in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system) the axis along which values of y are measured and at which both x and z equal zero.
noun
-
The vertical axis of a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
-
One of the three axes of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
Etymology
Origin of y-axis
First recorded in 1925–30
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Vocabulary lists containing y-axis
Expressions and Equations
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Geometry - Introductory
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Geometry - Middle School
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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.
Both plots were sourced from the same dataset and should thus be identical—but the plot in one paper has a y-axis with a scale that is about 7,000 times larger than the other.
From Scientific American • Jul. 27, 2023
The vertical y-axis is the bedroom door, on one side noise, density, debate, ideas; on the other, quiet, space, solitude, privacy.
From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2022
Reflect the graph of the parent function about the y-axis.
From Textbooks • Sep. 23, 2020
The same is true for components along the y-axis.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
A wire along the y-axis carries current in the +y-direction.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
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.
