How to Use diagonal in a Sentence

diagonal

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of diagonalnext
Synonyms for diagonalnext
  • The blanket is covered with diagonal stripes.
  • Slice the steak on the diagonal and place on top of the greens.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 14 June 2022
  • The stems of each piece had been chopped in the same diagonal lines.
    — Brian Howey, WIRED, 20 Oct. 2022
  • Use a sharp knife to cut three deep (to the bone), diagonal slits on both sides of the fish.
    — Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Both were skintight and in a shade of cream white, with a diagonal cutout along the chest.
    — ELLE, 8 Apr. 2022
  • The diameter of the sphere is equal to the diagonal of the cube the piece would fill.
    — The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2023
  • With a sharp knife, score the fish skin on the diagonal three or four times on each side.
    — Daniel Holzman, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2022
  • Adjust the saw blade angle to match the diagonal line and cut the 1 x 4s .
    — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 22 Nov. 2022
  • The screen will have a diagonal of 49mm or about 2-inch.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Add all the color, and go for diagonal lines to add even more intrigue to the look.
    — Lindy Segal, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 May 2022
  • Maybe put in a diagonal brace for the fence section nearest the gate.
    — Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2022
  • As a result, the screen has a 13.6-inch diagonal, the largest ever on the Air series.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 10 June 2022
  • Cut the sandwiches in half on the diagonal and serve hot.
    — Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 25 Nov. 2022
  • Press through feet and lift hips up off the floor to create a long diagonal line from shoulders to hips to knees.
    — Sabrina Talbert, Women's Health, 4 Aug. 2023
  • And apart from a few smudgy red and blue lines behind the buildings, and some diagonal strokes in front that might be clouds, that’s it.
    — Will Heinrich, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024
  • The diagonal and curving lines of the plants and the single ray of starlight establish jazzy rhythms.
    — Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2022
  • To create opposing diagonal lines, sort of in the shape of a V.
    — New York Times, 18 Aug. 2022
  • To make the orange beak, take an orange mini Starburst and cut it on the diagonal most of the way through.
    — Christina Haller, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
  • In the diagonal lines area next to a disabled parking space.
    — Angela Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Aside from the one-piece crest grille embossed with diagonal lines to mimic the nose of the gasser G80, there's really no telling the two apart from the front.
    — Car and Driver, 18 Aug. 2022
  • In rolling to the left, raise your right leg in a diagonal over your left leg while keeping the left leg stationary.
    — Milo F. Bryant, Men's Health, 14 June 2022
  • The neck of the bass guitar meets the circle of the bass drum, and Melanie Charles’s foot connects with the bass, which forms a diagonal line with Jonathan Michel’s finger.
    — Amanda Webster, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2022
  • As the dancers join her, briefly forming a circle that becomes a diagonal line, the sound picks up.
    — Catherine Tharin, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023
  • Less than one inch of sleet and snow was in the forecast -- all of it northwest of a diagonal line from just north of Mena to Mountain View to Hardy.
    — Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 23 Feb. 2022
  • Fold the paper in half. Cut three diagonal lines along the non-folded edge of your paper.
    — Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 16 Dec. 2022
  • Start with a diagonal French braid, and pull it into a low-side ponytail.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 31 July 2023
  • The Morning Show star also styled her buzzy cut with a deep, diagonal part.
    — Jackie Fields, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
  • Then push your feet into the ground and lift your pelvis up into a bridge, drawing a straight diagonal line from knees to chest.
    — Esther Smith, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2022
  • Repeater Stand in a staggered stance with right foot forward with a slight bend in the knee and left foot back on a slight diagonal from your right foot on the ground.
    — Tiffany Ayuda, Health.com, 2 Feb. 2022
  • Because the diagonal is √2 times as long as the side, √2 is irrational.
    — Quanta Magazine, 27 June 2023
Advertisement

diagonal

2 of 2 noun
  • Cut the bread in half on the diagonal, then top with a few pieces of onion.
    — The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 28 Dec. 2017
  • Make thin, wide slices across the grain, and at a slight diagonal.
    — Bryn Mooth, Cincinnati.com, 14 June 2018
  • Along the front, diagonal pinstripes cut across the shirt.
    — SI.com, 15 July 2019
  • Use a sharp pencil and a straight edge to mark the diagonals on the end grain on the upper part of these blocks (the end nearest the 15/16-inch hole).
    — James Schadewald, Popular Mechanics, 4 Aug. 2017
  • It was changed to a blue diagonal script in 1979, similar to the one worn on the Royals home jersey at the time.
    — Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, kansascity, 29 Mar. 2018
  • Gargiulo lived in a unit diagonal to hers across a pool on the second floor.
    — Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 21 June 2019
  • Gargiulo lived there, too, in a unit diagonal to hers across a pool on the second floor.
    — Alene Tchekmedyian, latimes.com, 20 June 2019
  • This can be done by stretching a string across one diagonal and then the other.
    — James Dulley, Dallas News, 12 Jan. 2020
  • Using a sharp knife, crosshatch the flesh on the diagonal, making cuts about ½-inch deep and 1 inch apart.
    — Jessica Yadegaran, The Mercury News, 22 June 2019
  • Yes, that Adolf, complete with the mini-mustache and the dark diagonal of hair.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2019
  • How did Grand Avenue end up diagonal in a grid of roads?
    — Dylan Simard, azcentral, 1 July 2019
  • Throughout the year, the earth tilts on its axis at a diagonal away from or toward the sun, causing the change in seasons.
    — Madison Roberts, PEOPLE.com, 21 June 2019
  • The one diagonal from our house seemed to take forever.
    — Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2018
  • When a pilot makes that choice, that reduces use of the shorter diagonals.
    — Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, 21 Oct. 2019
  • The other team must allow the ball to bounce once in the outer court diagonal to the server before hitting it back.
    — Bethany Ao, Philly.com, 12 July 2018
  • The distribution of the five features discussed is shown on the below plot along the diagonals.
    — Jeff Kao and Jack Gillum, ProPublica, 25 June 2019
  • There was a lack of pace, a lack of movement, to the point that for long spells its only attacking idea appeared to be long diagonals hit wide left to Leroy Sane.
    — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, 5 Apr. 2018
  • If the diagonals are not equal, this generally means the corners of the opening are not 90 degrees.
    — James Dulley, Dallas News, 12 Jan. 2020
  • The hack works like this: Instead of placing your box with its edges parallel to the edges of the wrapping paper, put it on a diagonal in the middle of the piece of wrapping paper.
    — Kelsey Hurwitz, Woman's Day, 17 Dec. 2019
  • Leg lifts Lying down, turn onto your right side. Prop yourself up on your forearm and stack the legs, shifting them out on a slight diagonal from your hips.
    — Stephanie Mansour, NBC News, 19 June 2019
  • The first shot on target came through Jóhann Guðmundsson in the 55th minute, as the midfielder was found through a long diagonal out to the right, though Fabiański was able to tip the shot over the bar rather comfortably.
    — SI.com, 10 Feb. 2018
  • On the floodlit pitch a pheasant groomed itself beneath the sagging diagonals of the goalmouth netting.
    — Colin Barrett, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019
  • Sony is keeping the size down to 8mm diagonal, meaning there won’t be the need for a huge camera bump, though the lens in front of the sensor will of course play a big part in the camera’s ability to resolve an image.
    — Sam Byford, The Verge, 23 July 2018
  • By move 42, both of Alpha- Zero’s bishops control long open diagonals directed right at the king.
    — William Herkewitz, Popular Mechanics, 23 Feb. 2020
  • Just as squares along diagonals on a chessboard have the same color, electrons positioned along 45-degree angles spin the same way.
    — Quanta Magazine, 30 Apr. 2014
  • Torey Krug made the key play on Pastrnak’s goal, firing a hard, long-distance diagonal from 10-15 feet behind his own blue line into the right wing corner.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 3 Nov. 2019
  • With Swanilda, the diagonal is a retreat (downstage right to upstage left); its charm lies in how very little her upper body does and in how that little makes magic.
    — Alastair MacAulay, New York Times, 31 May 2018
  • Amendola caught that four-yard game-winner with his body bent diagonal, like Michael Jackson in the Thriller video, stabbing his right foot inbounds and bringing his left down behind it.
    — Greg Bishop, SI.com, 23 Jan. 2018
  • The mom rocked a form-fitting black dress that featured a plunging neckline with a sheer, diagonal cut bottom embellished with black feathers.
    — Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 13 Aug. 2019
  • Soon, elaborate street plans, with parks, grids, and slashing diagonals resembling those of Versailles, would be traced over a terrain that still housed more bears than people.
    — Adam Davidson, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diagonal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: