transverse

T1R1A1N1S1V4E1R1S1E1

adjective

Situated or lying across; side to side, relative to some defined "forward" direction; perpendicular or slanted relative to the "forward" direction; identified with movement across areas.

Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

adjectivetransverse (not comparable)
  1. not comparableSituated or lying across; side to side, relative to some defined "forward" direction; perpendicular or slanted relative to the "forward" direction; identified with movement across areas.

    Unlike the older trains, the new units have walk-through carriages and longitudinal rather than transverse seating.

    2023 February 22, Paul Stephen, “TfL reveals first of new B23s for Docklands Light Railway”, in RAIL, number 977, page 12
    1 more example

    The units have transverse seats, two and three astride the passageway with single or double longitudinal seats alongside the two entrance vestibules in each car.

    1960 November, “New electric multiple-units for British Railways: Glasgow Suburban”, in Trains Illustrated, page 660

    Antonyms: longitudinal, crosswise

  2. not comparableanatomyMade at right angles to the long axis of the body.
  3. not comparablegeometry(of an intersection) Not tangent, so that a nondegenerate angle is formed between the two things intersecting. (For the general definition, see Transversality (mathematics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )
  4. not comparableobsoleteNot in direct line of descent; collateral.
nountransverse (plural transverses)

plural transverses

  1. Anything that is transverse or athwart, such as a road or a ship's web frame.
  2. geometryThe longer, or transverse, axis of an ellipse.
verbtransverse (third-person singular simple present transverses, present participle transversing, simple past and past participle transversed)

present singular third person transverses · participle present transversing · participle past transversed · past transversed

  1. transitiveTo lie or run across; to cross.
  2. transitiveTo traverse or thwart.
  3. transitiveTo overturn.

    And so long shall her censures, when justly passed, have their effect: how then can they be altered or transversed, suspended or superseded, by a temporal government, that must vanish and come to nothing?

    1702, Charles Leslie, The Case of the Regale and of the Pontificate Stated, page 226
  4. transitiveTo alter or transform.

    In love, it is said, all stratagems are fair, and many little ladies transverse the axiom by applying it to discover the secrets of their friends.

    1859, George Meredith, chapter 13, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, page 68
  5. obsoletetransitiveTo change from prose into verse, or from verse into prose.
    1 more example

    Bayes: Why, thus, Sir; nothing so easy when understood; I take a book in my hand, either at home or elsewhere, for that's all one, if there be any wit in't, as there is no book but has some, I transverse it; that is, if it be prose, put it into verse, (but that takes up some time) and if it be verse, put it into prose.

    1671, George Villiers, The Rehearsal, published 1770, act 1, scene 1, page 12

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSituated or lying across; side to side, relative to some defined "forward" direction; perpendicular or slanted relative to the "forward" direction; identified with movement across areas.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveextending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latintrānsversus“turned across; going or lying across or crosswise”
  2. Englishtransverse

Late Middle English, from Latin trānsversus (“turned across; going or lying across or crosswise”). Doublet of transversal.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian напречен, пресичащ
  • напречен (naprečen)lying across
  • пресичащ (presičašt)lying across
Catalan transversal, transversal
  • transversallying across
  • transversalnot tangent
Chinese Mandarin 橫 /横
  • 橫 /横 (héng)lying across
Czech příčný
  • příčnýlying across
Estonian risti-rästi, põigiti
  • risti-rästilying across
  • põigitilying across
Finnish poikittainen, transversaali
  • poikittainenlying across
  • transversaalinot tangent
  • leikkaavanot tangent
German querliegend, quer liegend
  • querliegendlying across
  • quer liegendlying across
  • quergerichtetlying across
  • quer gerichtetlying across
  • quer-lying across
  • querlaufendlying across
  • schräglying across
  • diagonallying across
  • transversalnot tangent
Korean 가로
  • 가로 (garo)lying across
Latin transversus
  • transversuslying across
Latvian šķērss, šķērsenisks
  • šķērsslying across
  • šķērseniskslying across
Māori rīpeka, hīpae
  • rīpekalying across
  • hīpaelying across
  • paeanything transverse
Polish poprzeczny, sieczny
  • poprzecznylying across
  • siecznynot tangent
  • poprzeczna rzeczanything transverse
Portuguese transverso
  • transversolying across
Russian попере́чный
  • попере́чный (poperéčnyj)lying across
Spanish transverso
  • transversolying across

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with transverse

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

transverse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transverse

MLA

“transverse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transverse. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “transverse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transverse.

Source: transverse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.