y-axis

American  

[wahy-ak-sis] / ˈwaɪˌæk sɪs /

noun

Mathematics.

y-axes plural

1. 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.

2. (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.

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y-axis British  

noun

1. a reference axis, usually vertical, of a graph or two- or three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system along which the y- coordinate is measured

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y-axis Scientific  

/ wī′ăk′sĭs /

1. The vertical axis of a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

2. One of the three axes of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• y-axes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of y-axis

First recorded in 1925–30

Compare meaning

How does y-axis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• x-axis vs. y-axis

Example Sentences

This is clearly illustrated by a graphical presentation of the free energy change equation, in which ΔG is plotted on the y axis versus T on the x axis:

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Frequency of SNPs in the sequenced quinoa accessions, relative to the reference quinoa genome assembly, in a 1-Mb window size. y axis scale is from 0 to 10,000 SNPs.

From Nature • Feb. 7, 2017

The secondary y axis on the right side indicates the percentage of positions per window covered in the alignment.

From Nature • Jan. 22, 2014

Graphically, the y-intercept is the y coordinate of the point where the graph of the line crosses the y axis.

From Textbooks • Sep. 19, 2013

So she thinks the key to making a vertical line is just making the y axis coordinate large enough.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell