From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishperpendicularper‧pen‧dic‧u‧lar1 /ˌpɜːpənˈdɪkjələ◂ $ ˌpɜːrpənˈdɪkjələr◂/ adjective 1 VERTICALnot leaning to one side or the other but exactly vertical → vertical, horizontal a perpendicular line a perpendicular wall of rock2 → be perpendicular to something3 → Perpendicular —perpendicularly adverb
Examples from the Corpus
perpendicular• We make sure our horizontal strokes precede our perpendicular.• Ensure that the plumbline is perpendicular before you start to draw the line.• His eyes were deep set, his nose thin and perpendicular, his mouth narrow and open.• The transmitted beam consists only of photons with the perpendicular polarisation.• a perpendicular pole• Looking over his left shoulder, he raises his arms perpendicular to his sides.• A1 and A2: carbon-bearing, electrolyte-saturated, measurement direction parallel and perpendicular to planes of foliation respectively.• The leaves are arranged so that each pair is situated perpendicular to the axis of the preceding leaves.• Each of us spotted a different line of cobbles extending across the plain, perpendicular to the prevailing gradient of slope.• In a graph, the x-axis is perpendicular to the y-axis.• Behind them, there was a perpendicular wall of rock.• Looked a bit perpendicular when I saw it.PerpendicularPerpendicularAAin the style of 14th- and 15th-century English churches, which are decorated with straight upright lines → perpendicularperpendicularperpendicular2 noun [singular] VERTICALan exactly vertical position or lineOrigin perpendicular1 (1300-1400) Old French perpendiculer, from Latin, from perpendiculum “plumb line”, from pendere “to hang” 