# transverse

> English word · Adjective · IPA /tɹanzˈvɜːs/ · frequency rank #20,520

## Definitions
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. Not in direct line of descent; collateral.

## Etymology
Late Middle English, from Latin trānsversus (“turned across; going or lying across or crosswise”). Doublet of transversal.

## Easily confused with
- **traverse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/transverse-vs-traverse)

## Common misspellings (16)
`rtansverse`, `tarnsverse`, `trannsverse`, `transevrse`, `transsverse`, `transveres`, `transverrse`, `transversse`, `transvesre`, `transvrese`, `transvverse`, `tranvserse`, `trasnverse`, `trnasverse`, `trransverse`, `ttransverse`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/transverse