coaxial

IPA/kəʊˈæksiəl/
KK[kˈoˈæksiəl]IPA/kəʊˈæksiəl/

coaxial — adjective

  • coaxialpositive
  • more coaxialcomparative
  • most coaxialsuperlative

1. having the same central line running through two or more round or long objects

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

having the same central line running through two or more round or long objects

Example

During repair, Christopher checked that the two metal tubes stayed coaxial.

be coaxial = share one centre line

Bilal slid the wheel onto the rod until both parts were coaxial.

be coaxial with a rod or shaft

Common collocations
  • coaxial circles
  • coaxial tubes
  • coaxial lens
  • coaxial with the rod
Synonyms
  • aligned

    broader everyday word that does not specifically say the parts share one central line

  • concentric

    works for circles or rings sharing a centre, but not every three-dimensional case

Antonyms
  • misaligned

    shows that the parts do not line up correctly on one centre line

  • off-centre

    stresses that one part sits away from the middle

Grammar Patterns

be coaxial with something

coaxial + noun

Usage Note

Often appears after be, stay, or keep in technical descriptions of circles, tubes, lenses, and shafts. The objects share one centre line, not just the same general direction.

2. describing a cable or connector that carries a signal through an inner wire prot

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

describing a cable or connector that carries a signal through an inner wire protected by insulation and an outer conductor

Example

The old TV needs a coaxial cable from the wall socket.

coaxial cable = TV or signal wire

Imran replaced the bent coaxial connector before the internet test.

Common collocations
  • coaxial cable
  • coaxial connector
  • coaxial plug
  • coaxial line
Synonyms
  • coax

    common shortened form in electronics and installation talk

  • antenna cable

    everyday label for a TV use, but narrower than the full technical term

Grammar Patterns

coaxial cable

coaxial connector

coaxial line

Usage Note

Usually modifies cable, connector, plug, or line in electronics and home-media contexts. This sense names the signal-carrying hardware itself, not the wider geometric relation in sense 1.

Word family

  • coaxially
    adverbC2
  • coaxiality
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Coaxial is more exact than aligned because it says two round or long objects share one centre line. Aligned is a broader everyday word and may only mean that things look neatly lined up from one viewpoint. Concentric is narrower: it suits circles or rings that share a centre, but it does not naturally describe every pair of tubes, lenses, or shafts. Parallel is different again, because parallel parts run side by side without meeting on the same axis. A technician may say the lens and guide ring must be coaxial, while a child might only say they are lined up. Two circles can be concentric and coaxial at the same time, but two rails can be parallel without being coaxial.

coaxial ↗aligned ↗concentric ↗parallel ↗

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Coaxial was built in modern English from co-, meaning 'together', and axial, meaning 'related to an axis'. The second part goes back to Latin axis, 'axle' or 'axis'. The word first described parts that share one centre line, and from that idea it was naturally extended to the cable design where one conductor runs around another on the same axis.

First known use

1881

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1