tessellation

noun tes·sel·la·tion \ ˌte-sə-ˈlā-shən \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Definition of tessellation

1 a : mosaic

b : a covering of an infinite geometric plane without gaps or overlaps by congruent plane figures of one type or a few types

2 : an act of tessellating : the state of being tessellated

Recent Examples of tessellation from the Web

The Infinity Puzzle, as it's called, uses concepts like tessellation and Klein bottles to create a puzzle with no sides or corners.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "This Math-Inspired Jigsaw Puzzle Goes On Forever," 23 Nov. 2016
Its sky is full of gantry cranes, stacking 20-foot-long shipping containers in multicoloured tessellations, like giant Lego bricks.

— The Economist, "The other handoverAn illustrious Hong Kong container firm sells to China," 15 July 2017
But organic shapes or shapes that don't repeat in a regular pattern are also valid tessellations.

— evelyn lamb, Scientific American Blog Network, "For World Tessellation Day, Remember to Look Down," 12 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tessellation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.