INDEX:
1. standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down
2. to put something into a vertical position
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ FLAT/NOT FLAT
see also
↑ UP
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1. standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down
▷ vertical /ˈvɜːʳtɪk ə l/ [adjective]
▪ The wallpaper has vertical pink and white stripes.
▪ In some places the cliff was almost vertical, and much too dangerous to climb.
▪ The vertical line on the graph represents the time taken, and the horizontal line represents the distance travelled.
▪ a fairground ride that ends with a vertical drop of a hundred feet
vertically [adverb]
▪ a sheet of paper divided vertically into two
▷ upright /ˈʌp-raɪt/ [adverb]
in a vertical position :
sit/stand upright
▪ The ceiling was so low that he couldn’t stand upright.
hold/keep something upright
▪ Keep the bottle upright, in case it leaks.
▪ She sat quietly, her violin held upright in her lap.
▷ straight up /ˌstreɪt ˈʌp/ [adverb]
in a vertical direction, into or towards the sky :
point/rise/travel etc straight up
▪ The rocket shot straight up and exploded overhead.
▪ The towers of the hospital rose straight up from the edge of the highway.
▪ A thin crack running straight up the wall had appeared.
▪ At this point, the base of the golf club should point straight up into the air.
▷ perpendicular /ˌpɜːʳpənˈdɪkjɑləʳ◂/ [adjective]
perfectly vertical in relation to the ground, or in relation to another line - used especially in technical contexts :
▪ Behind them, there was a perpendicular wall of rock.
▪ Ensure that the plumbline is perpendicular before you start to draw the line.
perpendicular to
at an angle of 90 degrees to another line or surface
▪ In a graph, the x-axis is perpendicular to the y-axis.
▷ erect /ɪˈrekt/ [adjective]
in a very straight, stiff, vertical position :
▪ The headstones were all erect and orderly.
▪ The rabbit looked all around, with its ears erect.
sit/stand/walk etc erect
▪ The magistrate sat there, stern and erect, as the charge was read out.
▪ She holds her head erect, with her blonde curls falling down her back.
▷ sheer /ʃɪəʳ/ [adjective only before noun]
a sheer surface or slope is very steep, almost vertical :
sheer cliff/drop/slope etc
▪ The coastguard patrols paths at the top of high and sheer cliffs.
▪ I stood at the edge of the old chalk quarry, with a sheer drop of ten or twenty metres below me.
2. to put something into a vertical position
▷ stand up /ˌstænd ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to put something into a vertical position, especially when this is its usual position :
stand something up
▪ Tom stood the statue up and looked at it.
▪ Stand the wine bottle up for a few hours in a warm place before drinking.
stand up something
▪ The bartender had to go round standing up all the stools that had been knocked down in the fight.
▷ stand something on end /ˌstænd something ɒn ˈend/ [verb phrase]
to put something in a vertical position, when this is not its usual position :
▪ We had to stand the table on end to get it through the door.