A transverse wave is a type of wave where the oscillation or displacement of the medium is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. In other words, if the wave is moving horizontally, the particles of the medium are moving up and down.
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A transverse wave has an oscillating vector perpendicular to its direction of propagation. For a mechanical string running along , a small displacement is transverse. A succession of transverse forces from the tension accelerates neighbouring string elements, carrying the disturbance along the string. Their motion is across the string while the pattern travels along it.
A plane electromagnetic wave in vacuum also has transverse electric field and magnetic field. Two independent transverse directions permit different wave polarizations, including linear polarization and circular polarization. A fluid's ordinary bulk acoustic wave is instead a longitudinal wave. A water-surface gravity wave generally combines vertical and horizontal particle motion, so its visible vertical motion alone does not make the full motion purely transverse. Marking one position on a string and filming a passing pulse makes the distinction between particle motion and pattern motion directly visible.