noun
meridian
muh-RIH-dih-uhn
noun
1
An imaginary line running from the North Pole to the South Pole, used to measure longitude.
"Greenwich sits on the prime meridian, from which all other longitudes are measured."
2
The highest or most successful point of something; its peak.
"The band reached its meridian in the late 1990s before splitting up."
3
In traditional Chinese medicine, one of the pathways along which life energy (qi) is said to flow through the body.
"The acupuncturist explained which meridian the needle placement was meant to target."
How to Use Meridian
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA north-south reference line for measuring location, or figuratively, the peak of something.
Common pairings
prime meridian
reach one's meridian
crossing the meridian
Word Forms
meridianed past tense, meridians plural, meridians plural, meridians singular
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Greenwich sits on the prime _____, from which all other longitudes are measured.
Etymology
From Latin meridianus, "of midday," since the meridian line was originally defined by the sun's position at noon.