transverse
adjective, noun, verb
transverse is spelled T-R-A-N-S-V-E-R-S-E: 10 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, transverse means “Situated or lying across; side to side, relative to some defined "forward" direction; perpendicular or slanted relative to the "forward" direction…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in transverse?
| Letters | 10: T-R-A-N-S-V-E-R-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is transverse?
Transverse appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce transverse?
Transverse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-transverse.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-transverse2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-transverse3.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of transverse
- transverses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- transversing participle, present
- transversed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does transverse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Situated or lying across; side to side, relative to some defined "forward" direction; perpendicular or slanted relative to the "forward" direction; identified with movement across areas.
- 2
Made at right angles to the long axis of the body.
- 3
(of an intersection) Not tangent, so that a nondegenerate angle is formed between the two things intersecting. (For the general definition, see Transversality (mathematics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )
- 4
obsoleteNot in direct line of descent; collateral.
noun
- 1
Anything that is transverse or athwart, such as a road or a ship's web frame.
- 2
The longer, or transverse, axis of an ellipse.
verb
- 1
To lie or run across; to cross.
- 2
To traverse or thwart.
- 3
To overturn.
- 4
To alter or transform.
- 5
obsoleteTo change from prose into verse, or from verse into prose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate transverse?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of transverse: transv..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Transverse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lying across:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | querliegend, quer liegend, quergerichtet, quer gerichtet, quer-, querlaufend |
| Portuguese | transverso |
| Spanish | transverso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does transverse come from?
Late Middle English, from Latin trānsversus (“turned across; going or lying across or crosswise”). Doublet of transversal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).