parallax

noun

par·​al·​lax ˈper-ə-ˌlaks 

ˈpa-rə-

: the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object

especially : the angular difference in direction of a celestial body as measured from two points on the earth's orbit

Examples of parallax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And Matthew Barney will return with a presentation of sculptures related to his TACTICAL parallax performance commissioned for AIR last year. —Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Crossbar cameras have been used by the NHL for a decade now and come with far more certainty that there are no parallax or distorted views when gauging if a puck crossed the goal line, unlike the in-goal and in-post cameras that preceded them. —Chris Johnston, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Stellar parallax was first measured in the 1830s, giving us distances to (and separation distances between) the stars. —Big Think, 24 Apr. 2026

That small difference allowed researchers to calculate microlensing parallax, which directly reveals how far away the lensing object must be. —Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French parallaxe, from Greek parallaxis, from parallassein to change, from para- + allassein to change, from allos other

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for parallax

• almanacs
• carrybacks
• haversacks
• lumberjacks
• maniacs
• microcracks
• minimax
• paperbacks
• quarterbacks
• sticklebacks
• telefax
• anticlimax

Kids Definition

parallax

noun

par·​al·​lax ˈpar-ə-ˌlaks 

: the apparent shift in position of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object

Medical Definition

parallax

noun

par·​al·​lax ˈpar-ə-ˌlaks 

: the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object

motion parallax governs the way objects appear to move when the eyes or head are shifted

—Edmund Andrews