Phrase guide

Manhattan distance

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /mænˌhætn̩ ˈdɪst(ə)n(t)s/
  • General-American: /mænˌhætn̩ ˈdɪst(ə)n(t)s/
  • General-American: /mən-/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪstəns

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of taxicab distance (“the distance between two points on a grid, where the only path allowed is along horizontal and vertical lines”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blockwise distance, city block distance, taxi distance, taxicab distance

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Manhattan + distance, referring to the gridlike street geography of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States.