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Math glossary

Parallel lines

Lines in the same flat surface that stay the same distance apart and never meet.

Parallel lines point in the same direction. The opposite sides of a rectangle are parallel.

Example: The two long edges of a ruler are parallel.

Lessons, worksheets, practice and tools on this: Geometry and shapes.

Related words

  • Angle: The amount of turn between two lines that meet at a point.
  • Symmetry: When one half of a shape is a mirror image of the other half.
  • Perpendicular lines: Two lines that meet to form a right angle.
  • Polygon: A closed flat shape made of straight sides.
  • Quadrilateral: A polygon with exactly 4 sides.
  • Right angle: An angle that measures exactly 90 degrees, like the corner of a square.
  • Acute angle: An angle that measures less than 90 degrees.
  • Obtuse angle: An angle that measures more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees.
  • Vertex: A point where two or more lines or edges meet. The plural is vertices.
  • Diameter: The distance across a circle through its center.
  • Radius: The distance from the center of a circle to its edge.
  • Circumference: The distance around a circle.
  • Prism: A solid shape with two identical, parallel bases and flat sides that are rectangles.
  • Pyramid: A solid shape with a flat base and triangle faces that meet at one point.

All words