Here's why:

* Transverse waves are characterized by the fact that the particles of the medium oscillate perpendicular (at a right angle) to the direction the wave travels. Imagine a rope tied to a wall. If you shake the rope up and down, the wave will travel along the rope, but the rope itself moves up and down (perpendicular to the direction of the wave).

Let's contrast this with a longitudinal wave, where the particles oscillate parallel to the direction of the wave. Think of a slinky: if you push and pull one end, the compression and expansion will travel along the slinky, and the coils of the slinky will move back and forth in the same direction as the wave.

Some examples of transverse waves include:

* Light waves: These are electromagnetic waves that travel through a vacuum and don't require a medium to propagate.

* Waves on a string: Like the example above, waves on a guitar string or a rope are transverse.

* Water waves: While water waves have a more complex motion, the up-and-down motion of the water particles is a significant component, making them primarily transverse.