# adjacent

/əˈdʒeɪsənt/ (US) · /ɐdʒˈeɪsənt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/adjacent
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. next to

adjective · CEFR B2 · Academic

describes two things that are next to each other or share a wall or border.

For teachers: lying near, close, or contiguous; sharing a common boundary or border.

- The two families lived in adjacent houses and shared a garden fence.
- The laboratory is located in the building adjacent to the main library, making it convenient for researchers to access physical archives.

Usage: often used with the preposition 'to'

### 2. related to

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal

describes something that is not exactly the same as another thing, but is very similar or connected to it.

For teachers: figuratively related to or suggestive of a particular quality or field without being a core part of it.

- He doesn't work in tech, but he has a tech-adjacent job in marketing.
- While her primary research is in sociology, she often explores psychology-adjacent themes regarding group behavior and identity.

### 3. geometry

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the side of a right-angled triangle that is next to a specific angle.

For teachers: the side of a right triangle that is adjacent to a given acute angle and is not the hypotenuse.

- To find the cosine of the angle, you must divide the adjacent by the hypotenuse.
- The student struggled to identify the adjacent when the triangle was rotated, confusing it with the opposite side relative to the target angle.

## Examples

- The two offices are adjacent to each other.
- The developer purchased the adjacent lot to expand the parking area for the new shopping center.
- In urban planning, the development of green spaces adjacent to industrial zones can significantly mitigate the heat island effect and improve local air quality.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.