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:
The M23 alliance, which captured Goma and Bukavu in early 2025, has sought to demonstrate its administrative capacity by mounting a parallel Ebola response in territories under its control.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Stand with your feet parallel about hip distance apart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
These letters haven’t been issued since the Civil War, but the parallel is obvious and creates shades of gray that could present major problems.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
She based her decision on "a parallel analysis of several channels that have been posting truthful information for a long time."
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
They crossed the Ashley River bridge and headed parallel to the river until they reached Broad Street.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Leaving aside the tastelessness of comparing her death certificate to a lottery ticket, I doubt very much that it has any real-world parallels.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Eschewing grander historical parallels, Vaez calls the current situation a "plastic moment", pregnant with possibility as old adversaries contemplate a different set of relationships.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Commentators draw parallels with other intractable conflicts, and count the taxpayer money they say has spiraled down the drain.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
There are parallels here to the late 1990s, when tech innovation and investment resulted in productivity increases routinely north of 2.5%.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Greek philosophies on the beneficial behavioural qualities of music find striking parallels with Confucius-influenced writings of the second and third centuries bc in China.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
This bittersweet ending is paralleled alongside the story of the patient and Katharine.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Of all his familiar discoveries and inventions, his “Autobiography” may well be the most original, and what he made of it paralleled the invention of America itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
The writers have paralleled Homelander’s “slow descent into madness” with Butcher’s escalating anti-Supe crusade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The currency’s move overnight was paralleled by weakness in U.S. equity futures, suggesting investors’ willingness to take risks remains tethered to cryptocurrency prices heading into the final month of the year.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025
My experiences with New Guineans are paralleled by those of ethnobiologists studying traditional peoples elsewhere.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The education of Robert Maynard Hutchins parallelled and sped a slower re-education of the U.S. itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
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 control, direction and administration of the nucleus is parallelled by the control, direction and administration of the total complex—the empire and/or the civilization.
From Civilization and Beyond Learning from History by Scott Nearing
On every Earth-type planet that had ever been discovered, if there were intelligent life it had developed according to water-oxygen evolution; and the culture invariably parallelled homo sapiens.
From The Unprotected Species by Melvin Sturgis
The High Altar, which is almost in the middle of the Dome, is of a Magnificence not to be parallelled.
"Conversely, tourism can involve negative experiences that potentially lead to health problems, paralleling the process of promoting entropy increase. A prominent example is the public health crisis of COVID-19."
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
Still, paralleling the two races is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.
From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2025
"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
But Lachman realized that the grain also brought “tension to the surface of the image,” paralleling the repressive qualities of the characters in both “Mildred Pierce” and “Carol.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2023
So frequently do these acts recur that when I was halfway through the first draft of Native Son a case paralleling Bigger’s flared forth in the newspapers of Chicago.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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.
