adjective
- arranged like radii or rays.
- having spokes, bars, lines, etc., arranged like radii, as a machine.
- made in the direction of a radius; going from the center outward or from the circumference inward along a radius: a radial cut.
- Zoology. pertaining to structures that radiate from a central point, as the arms of a starfish.
- of, like, or pertaining to a radius or a ray.
- Machinery.
- having pistons moving inward and outward from a central point or shaft: a radial engine; a radial pump.
- noting a bearing designed primarily to take thrusts radial to the center of rotation.
- Anatomy, Entomology. of, relating to, or situated near the radius.
- acting along or in the direction of the radius of a circle: radial motion; radial velocity.
noun
- a radial section or construction.
- Automotive. radial tire.
adjective
- (of lines, bars, beams of light, etc) emanating from a common central point; arranged like the radii of a circle
- of, like, or relating to a radius or ray
- spreading out or developing uniformly on all sides
- of or relating to the arms of a starfish or similar radiating structures
- anatomy of or relating to the radius or forearm
- astronomy (of velocity) in a direction along the line of sight of a celestial object and measured by means of the red shift (or blue shift) of the spectral lines of the objectCompare tangential (def. 2)
noun
- a radial part or section
- zoology
- any of the basal fin rays of most bony fishes
- a radial or radiating structure, such as any of the ossicles supporting the oral disc of a sea star
- short for radial tyre, radial drilling machine
c.1400, “of or like a ray or radius,” from Medieval Latin radialis, from Latin radius “shaft, rod; spoke of a wheel; beam of light” (see radius). As a noun, a type of tire, attested from 1965, short for radial-ply (tire). Related: Radially.
adj.
- Of, relating to, or near the radius or forearm.
- Moving or directed along a radius.
- Radiating from or converging to a common center.