Meaning & use
vertical
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Standing straight up, at a right angle to level ground.
Grammar: Often not graded: a vertical line, though 'nearly vertical' is common.
Patterns
- a vertical line
- vertical to something
The climbers faced a nearly vertical cliff.
Draw a vertical line down the middle of the page.
The flagpole stands perfectly vertical.
nouncountable
A straight up-and-down line or direction.
Grammar: Usually with the: the vertical.
Patterns
- off the vertical
The mast leaned slightly off the vertical.
Hold the pole true to the vertical.
Measure the angle from the vertical.
nouncountablebusiness
A specific industry or market sector that a company serves.
Grammar: Business use, often plural: verticals like health and finance.
Patterns
- a vertical in something
The software firm targets the healthcare vertical.
They sell to several verticals, including retail and travel.
Our new vertical focuses on education.
Word forms
| plural | verticals |
|---|
Common combinations
- vertical line
- A vertical line separates the two columns.
- vertical drop
- The waterfall has a vertical drop of fifty meters.
- vertical integration
- The firm pursued vertical integration to control its supply.
- vertical stripes
- Vertical stripes can make a room look taller.
- vertical farming
- Vertical farming grows food in stacked layers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- upright
- Upright describes things standing straight, often people or objects, and also suggests good character.
- perpendicular
- Perpendicular is a geometry word for meeting another line at a right angle, whereas vertical is relative to the ground.
- sheer
- Sheer describes a cliff that drops steeply, with emphasis on its steepness.
Opposites
Word family
- vertically adverb
- in an up-and-down direction
- verticality noun
- the state of being vertical
- vertex noun
- the highest point or corner, from the same root
- vertically challenged adjective
- a humorous phrase meaning short
Commonly confused: vertical or horizontal?
vertical vs horizontal
Horizontal means flat and level like the horizon, which is the opposite of vertical.
Practice
The cliff was almost ___, so the climbers needed ropes.
Choose one answer.
Vertical means straight up and down, which makes a cliff hard to climb. Horizontal, level and flat would describe easy ground.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vertical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.