| 1. | of or pertaining to longitude or length: longitudinal measurement. |
| 2. | extending in the direction of the length of a thing; running lengthwise: a thin, longitudinal stripe. |
| 3. | Zoology. pertaining to or extending along the long axis of the body, or the direction from front to back, or head to tail. |
| 4. | pertaining to a research design or survey in which the same subjects are observed repeatedly over a period of time. |
| 5. | a longitudinal framing member, as in the hull of a ship. |
longitudinal lon·gi·tu·di·nal (lŏn'jĭ-t&oomacr;d'n-əl, -ty&oomacr;d'-)
adj.
Running in the direction of the long axis of the body or any of its parts.