X-axis Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Etymology

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Examples

x-axis American [eks-ak-sis] / ˈɛksˌæk sɪs /

noun

Mathematics.

plural

x-axes

1. Also called axis of abscissas. (in a plane Cartesian coordinate system) the axis, usually horizontal, along which the abscissa is measured and from which the ordinate is measured.

2. (in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system) the axis along which values of x are measured and at which both y and z equal zero.

x-axis British

noun

1. a reference axis, usually horizontal, of a graph or two- or three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system along which the x- coordinate is measured

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 x-axis Scientific / ĕks′ăk′sĭs /

1. The horizontal axis of a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

2. One of the three axes of a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

Etymology

Origin of x-axis

First recorded in 1925–30

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How does x-axis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• x-axis vs. y-axis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The angle between i and the x-axis is 90 degrees.

From Literature

In May, the governor’s office apologized after a graph was posted showing a downward trajectory of cases — but only because the x-axis was not in chronological order.

From Washington Post

For example, in the parabola y = x² – 4x – 5 the two solutions when y = 0 are the symmetrical points r and s, where the parabola crosses the x-axis.

From Seattle Times

The x-axis is effort; the y-axis is results.

From Seattle Times

We now take for granted graphs that have one variable on the x-axis and the other on the y; back then, it wasn’t obvious that you could plot equations in this way.

From Nature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.