vertical
/ˈvɝ.tɪ.kəl/adjective, noun
vertical is spelled V-E-R-T-I-C-A-L. The wrong spelling people search most is verticle: about 970 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 16 of all searches for the word. Vertical is an adjective meaning “Standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down; parallel to the local direction of gravity; along the…”.
How many letters and syllables are in vertical?
| Letters | 8: V-E-R-T-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, verticle, about 970 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell vertical?
Vertical is spelled V-E-R-T-I-C-A-L. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 16 of the searches for vertical in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is vertical?
Vertical appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th 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 vertical?
- UK /ˈvɜː.tɪ.kəl/
- US /ˈvɝ.tɪ.kəl/
- US /ˈvɝ.tə.kəl/
Vertical has 3 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: En-us-vertical.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vertical
- more vertical comparative
- most vertical superlative
- vertic
- verticals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vertical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down; parallel to the local direction of gravity; along the direction of a plumb line; perpendicular to something horizontal.
vertical lines
- 2
In a two-dimensional Cartesian co-ordinate system, describing the axis y oriented normal (perpendicular, at right angles) to the horizontal axis x.
- 3
In a three-dimensional co-ordinate system, describing the axis z oriented normal (perpendicular, orthogonal) to the basic plane xy.
- 4
Of or pertaining to vertical markets.
- 5
Involving different vintages of the same wine type from the same winery.
- 6
Of an interval: having the two notes sound simultaneously.
noun
- 1
A vertex or zenith.
- 2
A vertical geometrical figure; a perpendicular.
- 3
An individual slat in a set of vertical blinds.
- 4
A vertical component of a structure.
- 5
A vertical market.
We offer specialised accounting software targeting various verticals.
- 6
A command structure for exertion of political power.
- 7
A segment in a news publication that contains in-depth pieces focused on a specific topic.
Near-synonym: column
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate vertical?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of vertical: vert.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vertical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense being perpendicular to horizontal:
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 vertical come from?
Borrowed from Middle French vertical, from Late Latin verticālis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).