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
Expressions and Equations
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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
We will scan the y-axis from bottom to top to help determine the range.
From Textbooks ● Sep. 23, 2020
To construct a frequency polygon, first examine the data and decide on the number of intervals and resulting interval size, for both the x-axis and y-axis.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 27, 2020
A wire along the y-axis carries current in the +y-direction.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
This changes the distribution of the d orbitals, as orbitals on or near the z-axis become more stable, and those on or near the x- or y-axes become less stable.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The x- and y-axes could be aligned to point east and north, respectively.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
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
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.
