释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024par•al•lel /ˈpærəˌlɛl, -ləl/USA pronunciation adj., n., v., -leled, -lel•ing or (esp. Brit.) -lelled, -lel•ling, adv. adj. - (of two or more items) lined up in the same direction, never meeting or spreading apart:parallel rows of chairs.[be + ~ + to]The highway was parallel to the old country road for a few miles.
- having the same direction, tendency, or course:parallel interests.
- Computing
- Computingof or relating to operations within a computer performed at the same time:parallel processing.
- Computingrelating to or supporting the transfer of electronic data by several bits at a time:a parallel printer.
n. - Mathematics[countable] a parallel line or plane.
- anything parallel or comparable in direction, course, nature, or tendency to something else: [countable]parallels between human sacrifice and the Christian rite of Holy Communion.[uncountable]a case that has no parallel.
- Place Names[countable] any of the imaginary lines on the earth's surface, parallel to the equator, that mark latitude.
- Electricity an arrangement of an electrical circuit in which all positive terminals are connected to one point and all negative ones to another:[uncountable]batteries arranged in parallel.
v. [~ + object] - to provide a parallel for;
match; equal:The rate of inflation paralleled the price of oil. - to be in a parallel course to:The road parallels the river.
adv. - in a parallel course or manner:The river runs parallel to the main street.
par•al•lel•ism, n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024par•al•lel (par′ə lel′, -ləl),USA pronunciation adj., n., v., -leled, -lel•ing or (esp. Brit.) -lelled, -lel•ling. adj. - extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging:parallel rows of trees.
- having the same direction, course, nature, or tendency;
corresponding; similar; analogous:Canada and the U.S. have many parallel economic interests. - Mathematics[Geom.]
- (of straight lines) lying in the same plane but never meeting no matter how far extended.
- (of planes) having common perpendiculars.
- (of a single line, plane, etc.) equidistant from another or others (usually fol. by to or with).
- Electricityconsisting of or having component parts connected in parallel:a parallel circuit.
- Music and Dance
- (of two voice parts) progressing so that the interval between them remains the same.
- (of a tonality or key) having the same tonic but differing in mode.
- Computing
- of or pertaining 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.
- of or pertaining 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).
n. - Mathematicsa parallel line or plane.
- anything parallel or comparable in direction, course, nature, or tendency to something else.
- Geography, Place NamesAlso called parallel of latitude.
- Place Namesan 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.
- Place Namesthe line representing this circle on a chart or map.
- something identical or similar in essential respects;
match; counterpart:a case history without a known parallel. - correspondence or analogy:These two cases have some parallel with each other.
- a comparison of things as if regarded side by side.
- Electricityan arrangement of the components, as resistances, 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. Cf. series (def. 9).
- [Fort.]a trench cut in the ground before a fortress, parallel to its defenses, for the purpose of covering a besieging force.
- Printinga pair of vertical parallel lines (∥∥) used as a mark for reference.
- Show Business[Theat.]a trestle for supporting a platform (parallel top.)
v.t. - to provide or show a parallel for;
match. - to go or be in a parallel course, direction, etc., to:The road parallels the river.
- to form a parallel to;
be equivalent to; equal. - to show the identity or similarity of;
compare. - to make parallel.
- Greek parállēlos side by side, equivalent. to par- par- + állēlos one another; see allo-, else
- Latin parallēlus
- 1540–50
par′al•lel′a•ble, adj. par′al•lel′less, adj. par′al•lel′ly, adv. - 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged like, alike.
- 10.See corresponding entry in Unabridged equivalent, equal, mate, duplicate, twin, double.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged divergent; unlike; unique.
- 10.See corresponding entry in Unabridged opposite.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: parallel /ˈpærəˌlɛl/ adj when postpositive, usually followed by to: - separated by an equal distance at every point; never touching or intersecting: parallel walls
- corresponding; similar: parallel situations
Also: consecutive (of two or more parts or melodies) moving in similar motion but keeping the same interval apart throughout: parallel fifths- denoting successive chords in which the individual notes move in parallel motion
- denoting syntactic constructions in which the constituents of one construction correspond to those of the other
- operating on several items of information, instructions, etc, simultaneously
n - one of a set of parallel lines, planes, etc
- an exact likeness
- a comparison
- 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
- (as modifier): a parallel circuit
See series vb ( -lels, -leling, -leled)(transitive)- to make parallel
- to supply a parallel to
- to be a parallel to or correspond with: your experience parallels mine
Etymology: 16th Century: via French and Latin from Greek parallēlos alongside one another, from para-1 + allēlos one another |