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:
Along with being an origin story and an alien hunt unfurling in a 2016-set timeline, “Lanterns” grounds itself in a murder mystery that defines its 2026 plot running in parallel.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
In Philly, parallel parking ranks as top entertainment.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Then we started talking about the parallel of programming and overcoming programming, and what makes you human, what doesn’t, that parallel came first.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Villarreal picked him up, and there the two strands of his life - football and study - ran in parallel.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Barack’s administration was focused on improving access to affordable health care, and for me the garden was a way to offer a parallel message about healthy living.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
“East of Eden” parallels the Biblical story of Cain and Abel first through Adam and Charles Trask, then again through Adam’s twin sons Aron and Caleb.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Wigglesworth: There are parallels between the 19th-century railway boom and the AI boom today.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Harwood noticed parallels between her own life and that of Miles.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 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
The parallels with the Indian experience are striking.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
He added their resurgence had been paralleled by revivals in woodlarks and Dartford warblers, "which are also showing promising increases in numbers".
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
A road paralleled the fence, and the shrimp harvester was able to move much faster.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
The education of Robert Maynard Hutchins parallelled and sped a slower re-education of the U.S. itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
Victor's action is parallelled by that of Stephen.
From History of Dogma, Volume 2 (of 7) by Neil Buchanan
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
This revolution in the tempo of production and capital accumulation was parallelled by a like revolution in transportation and communication by land, water, and eventually by air and in space.
From Civilization and Beyond Learning from History by Scott Nearing
The closing lines declare, as far as the poet could declare them, these subjective experiences of his which, in a manner rarely parallelled, coloured and formed his thought on the highest things.
From Alfred Tennyson by Andrew Lang
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
In humans, mutations in the FBXW7 gene in breast cancer are associated with worse prognosis - paralleling the change seen in cats.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
Still used today by West Africans, the instrument's main parts are a gourd, and a stick attachment and a bridge for its three to four strings, paralleling a modern banjo.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2024
"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
Outside the window I see three sets of tracks paralleling the one we are on, brown and silver, and beyond them broad flat fields of furrowed soil.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
