vertex
nounUK /ˈvɜː.tɛks/ · US /ˈvɝˌtɛks/
Etymology Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin vertex (“whirl, eddy; top, crown, peak, summit”). Doublet of vortex.
11 senses
- 1The highest point, top or apex of something.
- 2The highest surface on the skull; the crown of the head.
- 3The common point of the two rays that form an angle.
- 4The point at which an axis meets a curve or surface.
- 5A point on the curve with a local minimum or maximum of…
- 6One of the elements of a graph joined or not by edges to…
- 7A point in 3D space, usually given in terms of its…
- 8The point where the surface of a lens crosses the optical axis.
- 9An interaction point.
- 10The point where the prime vertical meets the ecliptic in…
- 11A sharp downward point opposite a crotch, as in the…
The highest point, top or apex of something.
- The mountain’s vertex was covered in snow.
- He reached the vertex of his career after decades of work.
› An angular point of a polygon, polyhedron or…
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences The common point of the two rays that form an angle.
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences The point at which an axis meets a curve or surface.
Mathematics, Sciences A point on the curve with a local minimum or maximum of curvature.
Graph theory, Mathematics, Sciences One of the elements of a graph joined or not by edges to other vertices.
Computer graphics, Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A point in 3D space, usually given in terms of its Cartesian coordinates.
Engineering, Natural sciences, Optics, Physical sciences, Physics The point where the surface of a lens crosses the optical axis.
Astrology, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences The point where the prime vertical meets the ecliptic in the western hemisphere of a natal chart.
Media, Publishing, Typography A sharp downward point opposite a crotch, as in the letters "V" and "W" but not "Y".
- Derived terms
- antivertex, covertex, frontovertex, hypervertex, intervertex, intravertex, nonvertex, supervertex, vertexal, vertexial, vertex angle, vertex cover, vertex figure, vertex form, vertexless, vertex separation number, vertexwise
- Related terms
- vertical, Mathworld article on vertices of polyhedra, Mathworld article on vertices of polygons