longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈtüd-nəl 
-ˈtyüd-,
-ˈt(y)ü-dᵊn-əl,
British also ˌläŋ-gə-
1
: placed or running lengthwise
The insect's back is black with yellow longitudinal stripes.
2
: of or relating to length or the lengthwise dimension
the longitudinal extent of the building
3
: involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables
a longitudinal study of juvenile offenders over a period of five years
longitudinally
adverb
Examples of longitudinal in a Sentence
The insect's body is black with yellow longitudinal stripes.
calculating the longitudinal position of a ship
a longitudinal study of career aspirations among girls from 5 to 17
Recent Examples on the Web
But according to Fischer, that scale is used in experiments with small samples more often than it is employed systematically in large-scale longitudinal studies meant to track trends over time.
—
Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2025
However, longitudinal studies found drug consumption sites have no effect on overdose death rates.
—Patrick Hauf, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2025
Few longitudinal studies include them, an oversight Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and allergist at Northwestern University, calls a missed opportunity.
—Lucy Tu, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2025
The longitudinal study focused on about 10,000 children over a four year period.
—Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for longitudinal 
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Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2025
However, longitudinal studies found drug consumption sites have no effect on overdose death rates.
—Patrick Hauf, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2025
Few longitudinal studies include them, an oversight Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and allergist at Northwestern University, calls a missed opportunity.
—Lucy Tu, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2025
The longitudinal study focused on about 10,000 children over a four year period.
—Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for longitudinal
Dictionary Entries Near longitudinal
Cite this Entry
“Longitudinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longitudinal. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈt(y)üd-nəl
-ᵊn-əl
1
: of or relating to length
2
: placed or running lengthwise
longitudinally
adverb
-ē
Medical Definition
longitudinal
adjective
lon·gi·tu·di·nal
ˌlän-jə-ˈt(y)üd-ᵊn-əl, -nəl, British also ˌläŋ-gə-ˈtyüd-
1
: of, relating to, or occurring in the lengthwise dimension
a longitudinal bone fracture
2
: extending along or relating to the anteroposterior axis of a body or part
a trypanosome which reproduces by longitudinal fission
3
: involving the repeated observation or examination of a set of subjects over time with respect to one or more study variables (as general health, the state of a disease, or mortality)
a longitudinal study of heart transplant recipients over a five-year period
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