radial

[ rey-dee-uhl ]
See synonyms for radial on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. arranged like radii or rays.

  2. having spokes, bars, lines, etc., arranged like radii, as a machine.

  1. made in the direction of a radius; going from the center outward or from the circumference inward along a radius: a radial cut.

  2. Zoology. pertaining to structures that radiate from a central point, as the arms of a starfish.

  3. of, like, or pertaining to a radius or a ray.

  4. Machinery.

    • having pistons moving inward and outward from a central point or shaft: a radial engine; a radial pump.

    • noting a bearing designed primarily to take thrusts radial to the center of rotation.

  5. Anatomy, Entomology. of, relating to, or situated near the radius.

  6. acting along or in the direction of the radius of a circle: radial motion; radial velocity.

noun
  1. a radial section or construction.

  2. Automotive. radial tire.

Origin of radial

1
1560–70; <Medieval Latin radiālis, equivalent to Latin radi(us) beam, ray (see radius) + -ālis-al1

Other words from radial

  • ra·di·al·i·ty, noun
  • ra·di·al·ly, adverb
  • mul·ti·ra·di·al, adjective

Words Nearby radial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use radial in a sentence

  • A quadrant of a circle is one quarter of the same, being bounded on two of its sides by two radial lines, as in Figure 49.

  • In kangaroo rats, which are saltators, the index rises to more than 100 owing to the lengthening of the radial component.

  • They were in a section of the passage now that corresponded roughly to the statue's radial artery.

    The Jewels of Aptor | Samuel R. Delany
  • The lower bars are probably meant for teeth; what the radial lines on the crown are supposed to be is again conjecture.

    In Search Of Gravestones Old And Curious | W.T. (William Thomas) Vincent
  • The hand of an emaciated individual may be readily injected, both arteries and veins, by fixing the pipe in the radial artery.

    History of Embalming | J. N. Gannal

British Dictionary definitions for radial

radial

/ (ˈreɪdɪəl) /


adjective
  1. (of lines, bars, beams of light, etc) emanating from a common central point; arranged like the radii of a circle

  2. of, like, or relating to a radius or ray

  1. spreading out or developing uniformly on all sides

  2. of or relating to the arms of a starfish or similar radiating structures

  3. anatomy of or relating to the radius or forearm

  4. astronomy (of velocity) in a direction along the line of sight of a celestial object and measured by means of the red shift (or blue shift) of the spectral lines of the object: Compare tangential (def. 2)

noun
  1. a radial part or section

  2. zoology

    • any of the basal fin rays of most bony fishes

    • a radial or radiating structure, such as any of the ossicles supporting the oral disc of a sea star

Origin of radial

1
C16: from Medieval Latin radiālis from radius

Derived forms of radial

  • radially, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012