longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈtüd-nəl 
-ˈtyüd-,
-ˈt(y)ü-dᵊn-əl,
British also ˌläŋ-gə-
1
: placed or running lengthwise
The insect's back is black with yellow longitudinal stripes.
2
: of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
the longitudinal extent of the building
3
: involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables
a longitudinal study of juvenile offenders over a period of five years
longitudinally
adverb
Examples of longitudinal in a Sentence
The insect's body is black with yellow longitudinal stripes.
calculating the longitudinal position of a ship
a longitudinal study of career aspirations among girls from 5 to 17
Recent Examples on the Web
The Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2) Integrated Network connects research and clinical care through a longitudinal cohort study of people with bipolar disorder.
—
Kay Redfield Jamison, STAT, 3 May 2024
Meanwhile, the Dog Aging Project is following about 50,000 dogs in a longitudinal study of aging.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for longitudinal 
Kay Redfield Jamison, STAT, 3 May 2024
Meanwhile, the Dog Aging Project is following about 50,000 dogs in a longitudinal study of aging.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for longitudinal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'longitudinal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near longitudinal
Cite this Entry
“Longitudinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longitudinal. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈt(y)üd-nəl
-ᵊn-əl
1
: of or relating to length
2
: placed or running lengthwise
longitudinally
adverb
-ē
Medical Definition
longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈt(y)üd-ᵊn-əl, -nəl, British also ˌläŋ-gə-ˈtyüd-
1
: of, relating to, or occurring in the lengthwise dimension
a longitudinal bone fracture
2
: extending along or relating to the anteroposterior axis of a body or part
a trypanosome which reproduces by longitudinal fission
3
: involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables (as general health, the state of a disease, or mortality)
a longitudinal study of heart transplant recipients over a five-year period
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