Transect Meaning

/tɹænˈsɛkt/
C1

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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verbTo divide something by cutting transversely.

nounA path along which a researcher moves to count and record observations or collect data.

The team surveyed the area along a single and long transect line.
To transect means to cut or divide something across its width.
The biologists marked a transect across the forest to count species.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientists used a laser to ____ the tissue sample into two equal halves.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The biologist decided to ____ the area to count the number of different plant species living in the forest today.

From tran- + sect.

"The AOT methodology employs the concept of a ‘transect’, the essential idea of which is to collect data taken along a line or series of lines that cross a certain space. Collecting data via transects is a commonplace in biology, being regularly used for such purposes as monitoring butterfly numbers or estimating the size of bird populations. But transects have also been utilised in a large variety of arenas, including surveying the contents of Amerindian earthen mounds, determining levels of anti-rabies vaccinations in village dogs, and examining ecological factors under the canopy of trees growing in agricultural areas." — 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientists used a laser to ____ the tissue sample into two equal halves.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The biologist decided to ____ the area to count the number of different plant species living in the forest today.

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