vertex

noun, plural ver·tex·es, ver·ti·ces

[-tuh-seez] .

the highest point of something; apex; summit; top: the vertex of a mountain.

Anatomy, Zoology. the crown or top of the head.

Craniometry. the highest point on the midsagittal plane of the skull or head viewed from the left side when the skull or head is in the Frankfurt horizontal.

Astronomy. a point in the celestial sphere toward which or from which the common motion of a group of stars is directed.

Geometry.

the point farthest from the base: the vertex of a cone or of a pyramid.

a point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides.

the intersection of two sides of a plane figure.

Relevant Questions

What Is Vertex Form?

What Is A Vertex Angle?

How To Find The Vertex

What Is Vertex Form?

How To Find The Vertex

What Is A Vertex Angle?

Origin:
1560–70; < Latin: a whirl, top (of the head), equivalent to vert(ere) to turn + -ex (stem -ic-) noun suffix

Can be confused: vertex, vortex.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To vertex

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Vertex is always a great word to know.

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a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

vertex (ˈvɜːtɛks)

—n , pl -texes, -tices
1.	the highest point
2.	maths
	a. the point opposite the base of a figure
	b. the point of intersection of two sides of a plane figure or angle
	c. the point of intersection of a pencil of lines or three or more planes of a solid figure
3.	astronomy a point in the sky towards which a star stream appears to move
4.	anatomy the crown of the head

[C16: from Latin: highest point, from vertere to turn]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

vertex

1570, "the point opposite the base in geometry," from L. vertex "highest point," lit. "the turning point," originally "whirling column, whirlpool," from vertere "to turn" (see versus). Meaning "highest point of anything" is first attested 1641.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

vertex ver·tex (vûr'těks')
n. pl. ver·tex·es or ver·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz')

The highest point; the apex.
The topmost point of the vault of the skull; the crown of the head.
The portion of the fetal head bounded by the planes of the trachelobregmatic and biparietal diameters, with the posterior fontanel at the apex.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

vertex

(vûr'těks') Pronunciation Key
Plural vertices (vûr'tĭ-sēz') or vertexes

The point at which the sides of an angle intersect.
The point of a triangle, cone, or pyramid that is opposite to and farthest away from its base.
A point of a polyhedron at which three or more of the edges intersect.

Example sentences

To delete a vertex, place the pointer over a shaded vertex box and press the

delete key.

The cells are usually hexagons and one tower with a tri-dimensional antenna

sits at the vertex of three cells.

As a specific example, one question concerned how far various particles

traveled from a primary interaction vertex in a detector.

She chooses one of the six copies at random, places it on the table and covers

each vertex with a paper cup.

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epicranium exponential horn haunch median point precession

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