vertical

English

Alternative forms

• vertic (poetical)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French vertical, from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvɜː.tɪ.kəl/
• (US) enPR: vûr'tĭkəl, IPA^(key): /ˈvɝ.tɪ.kəl/, /ˈvɝ.tə.kəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tɪkəl

Adjective

vertical (comparative more vertical, superlative most vertical)

1. Standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down; parallel to the local direction of gravity; along the direction of a plumb line; perpendicular to something horizontal.

   Synonyms: sheer, up-and-down, apeak

   vertical lines

   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 72:

     The Zebra moray is chocolate black with vertical white stripes.

2. In a two-dimensional Cartesian co-ordinate system, describing the axis y oriented normal (perpendicular, at right angles) to the horizontal axis x.
3. In a three-dimensional co-ordinate system, describing the axis z oriented normal (perpendicular, orthogonal) to the basic plane xy.
4. (marketing) Of or pertaining to vertical markets.
5. (wine tasting) Involving different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery.
6. (music) Of an interval: having the two notes sound simultaneously.

   Synonym: harmonic

   Antonym: horizontal

Antonyms

• horizontal

Derived terms

• cyclovertical
• double vertical line
• mentovertical
• nonvertical
• postvertical
• prevertical
• subvertical
• vertical alignment
• vertical angle
• vertical apostrophe
• vertical bar
• vertical blinds
• vertical circle
• vertical deflection
• vertical drinking
• vertical ellipsis
• vertical escalation
• vertical farming
• vertical flute
• vertical garden
• vertical integration
• vertical interval
• verticalism
• verticality
• verticalization
• verticalize
• vertical jump
• vertical jump test
• vertical kampong
• vertical kampung
• vertical leap
• vertical-lift bridge
• vertical lift module
• vertical line
• vertical lips
• vertically
• vertical machining center
• vertical market
• vertical mouse
• vertical mower
• verticalness
• vertical proliferation
• vertical publication
• vertical replenishment
• vertical smile
• vertical stabiliser
• vertical stabilizer
• vertical video
• vertical video syndrome
• verticon
• verticutter
• vertilinear
• vertiport
• vortal

Translations

being perpendicular to horizontal

• Arabic: عَمُودِيّ (ar) (ʕamūdiyy), رَأْسِيّ (raʔsiyy)
• Armenian: ուղղահայաց (hy) (uġġahayacʻ)
• Assamese: থিয় (thio)
• Asturian: vertical (ast)
• Azerbaijani: şaquli (az)
• Belarusian: вертыка́льны (vjertykálʹny), проставе́сны (prostavjésny)
• Bengali: খাড়া (bn) (khaṛa)
• Bulgarian: вертика́лен (bg) (vertikálen), отвесен (bg) (otvesen)
• Catalan: vertical (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 豎的 / 竖的 (zh) (shù de), 垂直 (zh) (chuízhí), 直立 (zh) (zhílì)

• Czech: svislý (cs), vertikální (cs)
• Danish: lodret (da)
• Dutch: verticaal (nl)
• Esperanto: vertikala
• Estonian: vertikaal
• Finnish: pystysuora (fi), pystysuuntainen (fi), pysty (fi)
• French: vertical (fr)
• Galician: vertical (gl)
• Georgian: შვეული (ka) (šveuli), ვერტიკალური (verṭiḳaluri)
• German: vertikal (de), senkrecht (de)
• Greek: κατακόρυφος (el) (katakóryfos), κάθετος (el) (káthetos)
• Hebrew: אֲנָכִי (he) (anakhí)
• Hindi: लंबवत् (lambvat), ऊर्ध्वाधर (ūrdhvādhar)
• Hungarian: függőleges (hu), vertikális (hu)
• Icelandic: lóðrétt
• Italian: verticale (it)
• Japanese: 垂直の (ja) (すいちょくの, suichoku no), 縦の (ja) (たての, tate no), 直立の (ja) (ちょくりつの, chokuritsu no)
• Korean: 수직의 (ko) (sujigui)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئەستوونی (estûnî), ستوونی (stûnî)

  Northern Kurdish: stûnî (ku) f

• Latvian: vertikāls
• Limburgish:

  Eupen: värtikaal

• Lithuanian: vertikalus
• Macedonian: вертикален (vertikalen)
• Malay: mencancang, menegak, vertikal
• Māori: poutū, torotika, tūmāhoehoe, tūmārōhoehoe (refers specifically to the overhead sun), tūmārōhoehoe (refers specifically to the overhead sun), tūhoehoe (refers specifically to the overhead sun)
• Moore: selle, tĩidga
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: loddrett, vertikal (no)

  Nynorsk: loddrett, vertikal

• Old English: upriht
• Persian: ایستاده (fa) (istâde), عمودی (fa) ('amudi), راست (fa) (râst), قائم (fa) (qâ'em)
• Polish: pionowy (pl), wertykalny (pl)
• Portuguese: vertical (pt)
• Romanian: vertical (ro)
• Russian: вертика́льный (ru) (vertikálʹnyj), отве́сный (ru) (otvésnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìreach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: вертикалан, усправан

  Latin: vertikalan (sh), uspravan (sh)

• Slovak: vertikálny (sk), kolmý
• Slovene: navpičen (sl), vertikalen
• Spanish: vertical (es)
• Swedish: lodrät (sv) c, vertikal (sv) c
• Tagalog: tayo (tl)
• Thai: ตั้งฉาก (tângchàk), ตั้งตรง (tângtrōng), ตรงดิ่ง (trōngdìng)
• Turkish: dikey (tr)
• Ukrainian: вертика́льний (vertykálʹnyj), прямови́сний (prjamovýsnyj), дозе́мний (dozémnyj)
• Urdu: عمودی ('umūdī)
• Welsh: fertigol (cy)

Noun

vertical (plural verticals)

1. A vertex or zenith.
2. A vertical geometrical figure; a perpendicular.
3. An individual slat in a set of vertical blinds.
4. A vertical component of a structure.
5. (marketing) A vertical market.

   We offer specialised accounting software targeting various verticals.

   • 2010 July 5, Joseph Tartakoff, “What search verticals will Google target next?”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     As Barclay Capital's Douglas Anmuth wrote in a report on Friday morning, Google's "core search growth" is slowing, so there may now be a "greater urgency in pursuing specific verticals". So, what other specialised areas could Google target?

6. (politics) A command structure for exertion of political power.
   • 2024 August 19, Christina Harward, Nicole Wolkov, Grace Mappes, Davit Gasparyan, Karolina Hird, George Barros, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 19, 2024”, in Ukraine Project, The Institute for the Study of War:

     Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported on August 19 that Russian President Vladimir Putin's reaction to the "Kursk situation" has exposed certain shifts within the Kremlin's power vertical, many of which have been underway over the last several months ... Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov noted that the FSB has generally shifted its mandate away from controlling Russian oligarchs and towards controlling Russia’s military and Russia’s military-industrial complex as well as countering "saboteurs and terrorists," and Vazhnye Istorii reported that several long-time Russian economic oligarchs are also gradually losing their influence within the Kremlin's wider power vertical ... ISW has reported at length on Putin's efforts to maintain a core cadre of loyal siloviki (Russian strongmen with political influence) within the Russian power vertical, particularly since the risks to Putin's regime first introduced by the Wagner Group's armed rebellion in June 2023.

7. (journalism) A segment in a news publication that contains in-depth pieces focused on a specific topic.

   Near-synonym: column

Further reading

• “vertical”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Asturian

Etymology

From Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɾtiˈkal/ [beɾ.t̪iˈkal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical (epicene, plural verticales)

1. vertical

   Synonym: horizontal

Further reading

• “vertical”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [bər.tiˈkal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [vər.tiˈkal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [veɾ.tiˈkal]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ber.tiˈkal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical m or f (masculine and feminine plural verticals)

1. vertical, upright

   Antonym: horitzontal

Derived terms

• verticalisme
• verticalitat
• verticalment

Noun

vertical f (plural verticals)

1. vertical
2. (sports) vert

Further reading

• “vertical”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛʁ.ti.kal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ver‧ti‧cal
• Homophones: verticale, verticales

Adjective

vertical (feminine verticale, masculine plural verticaux, feminine plural verticales)

1. vertical

   Coordinate term: horizontal

   barre verticale ― vertical bar

Derived terms

• verticalement
• verticalité

Further reading

• “vertical”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin verticis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin verticālislbor.

Galician vertical

Learned borrowing from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɾtiˈkal/ [beɾ.t̪iˈkɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical m or f (plural verticais)

1. vertical

   Antonym: horizontal

Derived terms

• verticalmente

Ladin

Etymology

From Late Latin verticālis.

Adjective

vertical m (feminine singular verticala, masculine plural verticai, feminine plural verticales)

1. vertical

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛrtiˈkal/

Adjective

vertical

1. vertical

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin verticis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin verticālisder.

Portuguese vertical

Derived from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /veʁ.t͡ʃiˈkaw/ [veh.t͡ʃiˈkaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /veʁ.t͡ʃiˈkaw/ [veh.t͡ʃiˈkaʊ̯]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /veɾ.t͡ʃiˈkaw/ [veɾ.t͡ʃiˈkaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /veʁ.t͡ʃiˈkaw/ [veχ.t͡ʃiˈkaʊ̯]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /veɻ.t͡ʃiˈkaw/ [veɻ.t͡ʃiˈkaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨɾ.tiˈkal/ [vɨɾ.tiˈkaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨɾ.tiˈkal/ [vɨɾ.tiˈkaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨɾ.tiˈkal/ [bɨɾ.tiˈkaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨɾ.tiˈka.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical m or f (plural verticais, not comparable)

1. vertical

   Antonym: horizontal

Derived terms

• verticalmente

Further reading

• “vertical”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “vertical”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Alternative forms

• вертикал (vertical) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin verticis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin verticālislbor.

French verticalbor.

Romanian vertical

Borrowed from French vertical.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vertiˈkal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical m or n (feminine singular verticală, masculine plural verticali, feminine/neuter plural verticale)

1. vertical

Declension

Declension of vertical

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	vertical		verticală	verticali	verticale
	definite	verticalul		verticala	verticalii	verticalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	vertical		verticale	verticali	verticale
	definite	verticalului		verticalei	verticalilor	verticalelor

Related terms

• verticalitate

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin verticis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin verticālislbor.

Spanish vertical

Learned borrowing from Late Latin verticālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɾtiˈkal/ [beɾ.t̪iˈkal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ver‧ti‧cal

Adjective

vertical m or f (masculine and feminine plural verticales)

1. vertical
2. portrait (a print orientation where the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.; in smartphones)

Noun

vertical f (plural verticales)

1. handstand

Antonyms

• horizontal

Derived terms

• barra vertical
• en vertical
• hacer la vertical
• línea vertical
• piano vertical
• vertical de manos
• verticalmente

Further reading

• “vertical”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025