Meaning & use
meridian
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
An imaginary line on the globe running from the North Pole to the South Pole, used to measure how far east or west a place is.
Grammar: Can be counted: the prime meridian is one of many.
Patterns
- the meridian of somewhere
The prime meridian passes through Greenwich in London.
Ships used the meridian to work out their position.
Time zones are loosely based on meridians.
nouncountablespecialist
One of the lines of energy flow through the body in traditional Chinese medicine, along which acupuncture points lie.
Grammar: Usually appears in plural when describing the system.
The practitioner placed needles along the liver meridian.
Each meridian is linked to an organ.
Students learn the twelve main meridians.
nounsingularliterary
The highest point of success or power that someone or something reaches.
Grammar: Used with the: the meridian of his career.
Patterns
- the meridian of something
The empire reached its meridian in the second century.
At the meridian of her fame she toured the world.
The meridian of the playwright's career came in the 1920s.
Word forms
| plural | meridians |
|---|
Common combinations
- prime meridian
- The prime meridian is zero degrees longitude.
- cross a meridian
- The plane crossed the meridian at midnight.
- meridian line
- A brass meridian line is set in the courtyard.
- the meridian of life
- He wrote his best work at the meridian of life.
- acupuncture meridian
- Needles were placed on the acupuncture meridian.
Synonyms and how they differ
- longitude
- Longitude is the measurement in degrees, whereas a meridian is the actual line.
- peak
- Peak is plain and everyday, while meridian is literary when speaking of success.
- zenith
- Zenith also means highest point but suggests the sky or a final summit.
Opposites
Word family
- meridional adjective
- relating to a meridian or to the south
- antemeridian adjective
- before noon
- postmeridian adjective
- after noon
- transmeridian adjective
- crossing a meridian
Commonly confused: meridian or parallel?
meridian vs parallel
A parallel runs east to west and measures latitude, while a meridian runs north to south and measures longitude.
Practice
Longitude is measured in degrees east or west of the prime ____.
Choose one answer.
The prime meridian is the zero line for longitude. The equator, a parallel and a tropic measure latitude, not longitude.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “meridian”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.