vertical

comparative more vertical · superlative most vertical · alternative poetic vertic

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.

   vertical lines

   1 more example

   The Zebra moray is chocolate black with vertical white stripes.

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

   Synonyms: sheer, up-and-down, apeak

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. businessOf or pertaining to vertical markets.
5. wine tastingInvolving different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery.
6. entertainmentOf an interval: having the two notes sound simultaneously.

   Synonyms: harmonic · Antonyms: horizontal

plural verticals · alternative poetic vertic

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. businessA vertical market.

   We offer specialised accounting software targeting various verticals.

   1 more example

   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?

   2010 July 5, Joseph Tartakoff, “What search verticals will Google target next?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

6. governmentA command structure for exertion of political power.

   1 more example

   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.

   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

7. journalismA segment in a news publication that contains in-depth pieces focused on a specific topic.

   Near-synonym: column

   Synonyms: column