radial

[ rey-dee-uhl ]

/ ˈreɪ di əl /

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See synonyms for radial on Thesaurus.com

adjective

arranged like radii or rays.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

noun

a radial section or construction.

Automotive. radial tire.

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Origin of radial

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, nounra·di·al·ly, adverbmul·ti·ra·di·al, adjective

Words nearby radial

Radetzky, Radford, radge, Radha, Radhakrishnan, radial, radial artery , radial drilling machine, radial engine, radial keratotomy, radial motion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use radial in a sentence

Scientists can look for that wobbling, a method called radial velocity measurement.
Analyze This: Some 5,000 planets orbit stars other than our sun|Carolyn Wilke|May 10, 2022|Science News For Students
Other telescopes—both space-based and Earth-based—use what’s known as the radial-velocity method.
Looking for a New Planet? How About 5,000 of Them?|Jeffrey Kluger|March 25, 2022|Time
This meant significant progress over measuring the orbiting stars’ velocity in two dimensions by providing the “critical third dimension” of their radial, or 3D, motion.
Skywatcher|Anne-Marie Corley, SM ’09|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The team then tested the rats’ memory by having them swim through a radial arm water maze containing six arms, including one with a hidden platform.
Swimming is the ultimate brain exercise. Here’s why.|Purbita Saha|July 28, 2021|Popular-Science

His instrument used a clever new way to hunt for other worlds, called the radial velocity technique.
A century of astronomy revealed Earth’s place in the universe|Lisa Grossman|July 21, 2021|Science News
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.
Mechanical Drawing Self-Taught|Joshua Rose
In kangaroo rats, which are saltators, the index rises to more than 100 owing to the lengthening of the radial component.
Speciation in the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii|Henry W. Setzer
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

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

of, like, or relating to a radius or ray

spreading out or developing uniformly on all sides

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

anatomy of or relating to the radius or forearm

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 objectCompare tangential (def. 2)

noun

a radial part or section

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

short for radial tyre, radial drilling machine

Derived forms of radial

radially, adverb

Word Origin for radial

C16: from Medieval Latin radiālis from radius

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

radial

Origin of radial

OTHER WORDS FROM radial

Words nearby radial

Words related to radial

How to use radial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for radial

Derived forms of radial

Word Origin for radial