parallelogram

noun

par·​al·​lel·​o·​gram ˌper-ə-ˈle-lə-ˌgram How to pronounce parallelogram (audio)
ˌpa-rə-
: a quadrilateral with opposite sides parallel and equal

Examples of parallelogram in a Sentence

Rectangles, squares, and rhombuses are all parallelograms.
Recent Examples on the Web Laid out in somewhat of a parallelogram, this district has houses that date back to before the Civil War. Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2024 Bring the square behind the parallelogram, and the triangle at top in front of the square that is now below it. Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024 In a periodic tiling, the arrangement of tiles repeats in a regular pattern determined by an infinite grid of parallelograms. Craig S. Kaplan, Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2023 Some have a little piano keyboard while others have a grid of black and white buttons set roughly in the shape of a parallelogram. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Dec. 2022 Instead of a rectangle, the gallery is actually a parallelogram, and it's been decorated top to bottom with art by Houstonian Trenton Doyle Hancock, who put his mark on the court, the backboards, and even the basketballs themselves. Brittanie Shey, Chron, 20 Apr. 2023 While traditional courts are rectangular, the CAMH gallery is a parallelogram, making the court a weird, surrealist, immersive experience. Brittanie Shey, Chron, 20 Mar. 2023 Floating at the top of the list was an unusual logo, a hovering 3-D orb casting a shadow over a parallelogram. Dan Kois, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2023 This dissection shows that the area of the parallelogram is equal to the area of a rectangle with the same base and height, which, as anyone who didn’t attend Imaginary University knows, is the product of those two numbers. Patrick Honner, Quanta Magazine, 21 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parallelogram.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin or Greek; Late Latin parallelogrammum, from Greek parallēlogrammon, from neuter of parallēlogrammos bounded by parallel lines, from parallēlos + grammē line, from graphein to write — more at carve

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parallelogram was in 1570

Dictionary Entries Near parallelogram

Cite this Entry

“Parallelogram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parallelogram. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

parallelogram

noun
par·​al·​lel·​o·​gram ˌpar-ə-ˈlel-ə-ˌgram How to pronounce parallelogram (audio)
: a four-sided figure whose opposite sides are parallel and of equal length

More from Merriam-Webster on parallelogram

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