Definition of ADJACENT (original) (raw)
1
a
: not distant : nearby
the city and adjacent suburbs
b
: having a common [endpoint](/dictionary/end point) or border
adjacent sides of a triangle
c
: immediately preceding or following
2
of two angles : having the vertex and one side in common
Synonyms
Choose the Right Synonym for adjacent
a house with an adjacent garage
adjoining definitely implies meeting and touching at some point or line.
had adjoining rooms at the hotel
contiguous implies having contact on all or most of one side.
offices in all 48 contiguous states
juxtaposed means placed side by side especially so as to permit comparison and contrast.
a skyscraper juxtaposed to a church
Examples of adjacent in a Sentence
The Harrimans owned two large adjacent houses on N Street, one for themselves and one for Averell Harriman's pictures. —
Larry McMurtry, New York Times Review of Books, 23 Oct. 2003 Hearing unexpected chords was linked to magnetic activity in a left-brain region known as Broca's area and in adjacent right-brain tissue. —Bruce Bower, Science News, 5 May 2001 The hallways, especially those adjacent to the satellite phone, were crowded with journalists, avid to cover the Taliban takeover … —Michael Ignatieff, New Yorker, 24 Mar. 1997 Digging further in that spot and five adjacent areas, they retrieved 19 skulls, five eggs, over 150 jaws and hundreds of teeth, limbs and bone bits. —Natalie Angier, Time, 8 Oct. 1984
their house is adjacent to a wooded park
Recent Examples on the Web The multistory building — along with the adjacent Innovation Center that also was recently opened — includes student and faculty dining areas, as well as collaboration spaces and conference rooms for the school’s 1,700 students and faculty. —Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2024 The victim was thrown onto the train tracks and wound up in the carpool lane of the adjacent 210 Freeway. —Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024 Their location adjacent to large sports facilities also helps brings traffic. —Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2024 In completing the church, the plan is to redevelop 4 acres of adjacent land for more than 600 surface parking spots, move offices into the church, and build a chapel, school, coffee shop, bookstore and outdoor amphitheater. —Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for adjacent 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adjacent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French agisaunt, adjesant, borrowed from Latin adjacent-, adjacens, present participle of adjacēre "to lie near, border on," from ad- ad- + jacēre "to lie," stative derivative from the base of jacere "to throw" — more at jet entry 3
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of adjacent was in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near adjacent
Cite this Entry
“Adjacent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjacent. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.
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Last Updated: 10 Sep 2024 - Updated example sentences
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