y-axis
Americannoun
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y-axes
plural
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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
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The vertical axis of a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
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One of the three axes of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of y-axis
First recorded in 1925–30
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Vocabulary lists containing y-axis
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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:
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
It is symmetric about the x-axis, y-axis, and the origin.
From Textbooks ● Sep. 23, 2020
The reflection about the x-axis, is shown on the left side of Figure 10, and the reflection about the y-axis is shown on the right side of Figure 10.
From Textbooks ● Sep. 23, 2020
The same is true for components along the y-axis.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
We must find their components along the x- and y-axes, too.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
For example, the net external forces along the typical x- and y-axes are zero.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
How are the polar axes different from the x- and y-axes of the Cartesian plane?
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
The field of graph theory deals not with plots of data over x- and y-axes but rather with what laypersons might call networks.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2012
Bohm had suggested swapping the values of the particles' spins along the x- and y-axes for position and momentum.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 30, 2012
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
