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parallel ruler

British  

noun

  1. engineering a drawing instrument in which two parallel edges are connected so that they remain parallel, although the distance between them can be varied

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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The exercises were growing more complex and difficult: navigation by leg dividers and a parallel ruler; docking in 30 mph wind; sailing around an entire island; trying to rescue Mick’s hat, which blew overboard.

From Washington Post • Sep. 6, 2017

But reach down your chart, and produce your parallel ruler and dividers, my hearty; I want to get some sort of notion of what is ahead of us.”

From A Middy of the King A Romance of the Old British Navy by Hodgson, Edward S.

By this process the parallel ruler could be moved all over the chart without losing the course from one point to the other.

From Outward Bound Or, Young America Afloat by Optic, Oliver

One brass rolling parallel ruler, two feet long; must not weigh less than five pounds.

From Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia by Wills, William John

It is evident that, unless the workmanship is unusually good, this form of parallel ruler is not as accurate as the common one illustrated above.

From The Teaching of Geometry by Smith, David Eugene