parallel
Americanadjective
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extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging.
Parallel rows of trees lined two ends of the parking lot.
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having the same direction, course, nature, or tendency; corresponding; similar; analogous.
Canada and the United States have many parallel economic interests.
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Geometry.
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(of straight lines) lying in the same plane but never meeting no matter how far extended.
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(of planes) having common perpendiculars.
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(of a single line, plane, etc.) equidistant from another or others (usually followed by to orwith ).
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Electricity. consisting of or having component parts connected in such a way that all positive terminals are connected to one point and all negative terminals are connected to a second point, the same voltage being applied to each component.
a parallel circuit.
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Music.
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(of two voice parts) progressing so that the interval between them remains the same.
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(of a tonality or key) having the same tonic but differing in mode.
A major and A minor are parallel keys.
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Computers.
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of or relating to the apparent or actual performance of more than one operation at a time by the same or different devices (distinguished from serial).
Some computer systems join more than one CPU for parallel processing.
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of or relating to the simultaneous transmission or processing of all the parts of a whole, as all the bits of a byte or all the bytes of a computer word (distinguished from serial).
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Grammar. consisting of matched syntactic elements in corresponding positions.
In the sentence “I have three cats and two dogs,” “three cats” and “two dogs” are in parallel structure.
noun
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parallels
plural
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a parallel line or plane.
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anything parallel or comparable to something else in direction, course, nature, or tendency.
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Also called parallel of latitude. Geography.
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an imaginary circle on the earth's surface formed by the intersection of a plane parallel to the plane of the equator, bearing east and west and designated in degrees of latitude north or south of the equator along the arc of any meridian.
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the line representing this circle on a chart or map.
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something identical or similar in essential respects; match; counterpart.
It's a struggle to diagnose a case history without a known parallel.
- Synonyms:
- equivalent, body double, twin, duplicate, mate, equal
- Antonyms:
- opposite
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correspondence or analogy.
These two cases have some parallel with each other.
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a comparison of things as if regarded side by side.
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Electricity. an arrangement of the components, such as resistors, of a circuit in such a way that all positive terminals are connected to one point and all negative terminals are connected to a second point, the same voltage being applied to each component.
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Fortification. a trench cut in the ground before a fortress, parallel to its defenses, for the purpose of covering a besieging force.
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Printing. a pair of vertical parallel lines (‖) used as a mark for reference.
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Theater. a trestle for supporting a platform parallel top.
verb (used with object)
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parallels,
present (3rd person singular)
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paralleled,
past participle, past
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parallelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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paralleling,
present participle
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parallelling
present participle (especially British)
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to provide or show a parallel for; match.
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to go or be in a parallel course, direction, etc., to.
The road parallels the river.
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to form a parallel to; be equivalent to; equal.
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to show the identity or similarity of; compare.
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to make parallel.
idioms
adjective
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separated by an equal distance at every point; never touching or intersecting
parallel walls
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corresponding; similar
parallel situations
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music
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Also: consecutive. (of two or more parts or melodies) moving in similar motion but keeping the same interval apart throughout
parallel fifths
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denoting successive chords in which the individual notes move in parallel motion
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grammar denoting syntactic constructions in which the constituents of one construction correspond to those of the other
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computing operating on several items of information, instructions, etc, simultaneously Compare serial
noun
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maths one of a set of parallel lines, planes, etc
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an exact likeness
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a comparison
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Also called: parallel of latitude. any of the imaginary lines around the earth parallel to the equator, designated by degrees of latitude ranging from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles
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a configuration of two or more electrical components connected between two points in a circuit so that the same voltage is applied to each (esp in the phrase in parallel )
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( as modifier ) See series
a parallel circuit
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printing the character (∥) used as a reference mark
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a trench or line lying in advance of and parallel to other defensive positions
verb
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to make parallel
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to supply a parallel to
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to be a parallel to or correspond with
your experience parallels mine
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Any of the imaginary lines encircling the Earth's surface parallel to the plane of the equator, used to represent degrees of latitude.
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See illustration at longitude
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonparalleladjective
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parallelableadjective
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parallellessadjective
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subparalleladjective
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unparalleladjective
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parallellyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parallelsimple
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parallelssimple
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have paralleledperfect
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have parallelledperfect
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has paralleledperfect
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has parallelledperfect
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am parallelingprogressive
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am parallellingprogressive
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are parallelingprogressive
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are parallellingprogressive
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is parallelingprogressive
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is parallellingprogressive
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have been parallelingperfect progressive
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have been parallellingperfect progressive
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has been parallelingperfect progressive
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has been parallellingperfect progressive
Past
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paralleledsimple
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parallelledsimple
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had paralleledperfect
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had parallelledperfect
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was parallelingprogressive
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was parallellingprogressive
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were parallelingprogressive
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were parallellingprogressive
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had been parallelingperfect progressive
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had been parallellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parallel
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin parallēlus, from Greek parállēlos “side by side,” from par- par- + állēlos “one another” ( see allo-)
Explanation
In math, parallel means two lines that never intersect — think of an equal sign. Figuratively, parallel means similar, or happening at the same time. A story might describe the parallel lives of three close friends. Parallel is from Greek parallēlos, from the prefix para-, "beside," plus allēlōn, "of one another," from allos, "other." As a noun, a parallel is a way in which things resemble each other — you might draw parallels between the Vietnam War and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In specialized use, a parallel can mean one of the imaginary circles on the surface of the Earth that are parallel to the equator — the 49th parallel divides the U.S. and Canada.
Vocabulary lists containing parallel
Human Geography - Middle School
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"What Is the Horror Genre?" Vocabulary from the literary criticism
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Human Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Small triangles would behave almost exactly as Euclid predicted, and short parallel paths would not noticeably converge.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Agathe Chateau Frilloux sprinted down a long road parallel to the Champs Elysee, her daughter and son running close behind, only just making it to their designated gate before the set cut-off time.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
He demonstrates how, as Catherine grew older and more devoted to religion, the court fashioned parallel households for king and queen, which “accommodated their increasingly separate and different lives.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The legal fight over the press ban itself is proceeding on a parallel and even more consequential track.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
The stigma exists whether or not one has been formally branded a criminal, yet another parallel to Jim Crow.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
He said in an episode of The David Lin Report podcast that he is seeing parallels between the current landscape and the months before Black Monday, or the stock-market crash of 1987.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Fruit fly models, however, have repeatedly helped scientists uncover fundamental biological processes that were later found to have important parallels in humans.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
As Greengrass lays out the bare facts of this situation with a cinematic style that’s more news documentary than stuffy period piece, the parallels to our own current situation are laid bare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It immediately draw parallels with the Covid pandemic with its aerial shots of abandoned cities and Hig's constant search for resources like food and medicine.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The spread of writing has occurred by either of two contrasting methods, which find parallels throughout the history of technology and ideas.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Daisy Chain Fields is an ambitious escalation of Rodrigo’s activism in this sphere, which has paralleled her chart-topping success after debuting as a teenager with her LP “Sour” in 2021.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
This bittersweet ending is paralleled alongside the story of the patient and Katharine.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The rise in stocks and gold has paralleled the expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet, which, in colloquial terms, is how the central bank prints money.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
The story is also paralleled metafictionally by “Cheating,” whose success is attributed to its unabashed amorality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The rest of the squad, except me and Peewee, were on the long side of the “L” which paralleled the road.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
The education of Robert Maynard Hutchins parallelled and sped a slower re-education of the U.S. itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
They have been parallelled by social factors as men took advantage of natural opportunities to concentrate, feed and house ever larger human aggregates.
From Civilization and Beyond Learning from History by Scott Nearing
The main stem of the flowing Potomac is parallelled on the Maryland shore by the C. & O. Canal in Federal ownership, a unique resource.
From The Nation's River A report on the Potomac from the U.S. Department of the Interior by United States. Dept. of the Interior.
Victor's action is parallelled by that of Stephen.
From History of Dogma, Volume 2 (of 7) by Neil Buchanan
There are only thirty fables in the Talmud and the Midrash, and of these several cannot be parallelled in other literatures.
From Chapters on Jewish Literature by Israel Abrahams
Meanwhile Tropical Storm Rachel is paralleling Mexico's Pacific coast and is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane by Thursday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
"I have never in my experience heard a victim's voice telling you what is happening, what is going on in their life that's paralleling what you are obtaining and looking at evidentially," she said.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2023
And in a group of atheists and agnostics, Spirituality of Science predicted measures of well-being and meaning in life, paralleling the positive effects of religion that is frequently observed in religious people.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2023
Coming to the falls, you’ll view three separate cascades, from a bridge or on the trail paralleling the river.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
They had barely been in the saddle for an hour that morning when Kaede caught sight of the wolves running through the trees about fifty feet away, roughly paralleling the path.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Once he thought he saw a group of gorilla creatures parallelling their course back amongst the forest growth, but if Naida observed the animals, she paid no attention.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, December 1930 by Various
Now his spin brought him around to face it, and he saw it was parallelling his course.
From Badge of Infamy by Lester Del Rey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
