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Names of Basic Shapes and Their Definitions with Image

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Different Shapes Name in English

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Understanding all shapes names and characteristics is fundamental in both mathematics and everyday life. From the simple circle to the complex hexagon, each shape has distinct properties that define its structure and uses. This page will guide you through the most common geometric shapes, offering clear definitions and practical examples to help you recognise and understand them better. Whether you're a student, educator, or simply curious about geometry, this comprehensive guide will enhance your knowledge of shapes and their applications. Explore our detailed explanations and learn how these fundamental shapes form the building blocks of more complex geometric concepts.


Do you Know?

  • Sunflowers have spiral patterns that look like circles and help the flowers grow better.

  • Old buildings often use curved shapes like arches to hold up lots of weight and look cool!

  • Artists use shapes like circles, squares, and triangles to make beautiful pictures and designs.

  • Shapes like triangles and squares help us understand cool math ideas and patterns.

  • Round shapes, like a smiling face, make us feel happy, while sharp shapes might seem a bit scary.

  • Video games use shapes to create fun characters and cool graphics that look great on screens.

  • Knowing about shapes helps us fit puzzle pieces together and build awesome things with blocks.

  • In music, special shapes on notes help us sing the right pitches and rhythms.

  • We see shapes everywhere, like round clocks and rectangular tablets, which help us tell time and play games.

  • The number Pi (π) helps us understand circles and is about 3.14, which is used in maths for fun problems.


Shapes and Their Names

Everywhere we see objects of different shapes and each shape holds significance and certain properties. So, if you look at a chocolate box, it looks like a rectangle and each piece of chocolate seems square in shape. So, what properties does each shape have and how do identify each shape and distinguish between these shapes, this is a major concern.


Now, let us go through various shapes and understand tips to distinguish between them with the help of properties.

Circle

  • Definition: A round plane figure whose boundary (the circumference) is equidistant from the centre.

  • Properties:

    • No corners or edges.

    • All points on the circumference are the same distance from the centre.

    • The boundary is smooth and curved.


Image of an Circle


Square

  • Definition: A four-sided polygon (quadrilateral) with equal-length sides and four right angles.

  • Properties:

    • All sides are of equal length.

    • All internal angles are 90 degrees.

    • The opposite sides are parallel.

Image of an Square

Triangle

  • Definition: A three-sided polygon with three corners or vertices.

  • Properties:

    • The sum of the internal angles is always 180 degrees.

    • Can be classified as equilateral (all sides equal), isosceles (two sides equal), or scalene (all sides different).

    • Has three edges.

Image of an Triangle

Rectangle

  • Definition: A four-sided polygon (quadrilateral) with opposite sides equal in length and four right angles.

  • Properties:

    • Opposite sides are parallel and equal in length.

    • All internal angles are 90 degrees.

    • The sum of the internal angles is 360 degrees.

Image of an Rectangle

Oval

  • Definition: An elongated circle or an elliptical shape, with a smooth, curved boundary.

  • Properties:

    • No corners or edges.

    • The shape is symmetric along its long axis.

    • It has two focal points.

shape of an oval


Pentagon

  • Definition: A five-sided polygon with five corners or vertices.

  • Properties:

    • The sum of the internal angles is 540 degrees.

    • Can be regular (all sides and angles equal) or irregular.

    • Has five edges.

Shape of an pentagon


Hexagon

  • Definition: A six-sided polygon with six corners or vertices.

  • Properties:

    • The sum of the internal angles is 720 degrees.

    • Can be regular (all sides and angles equal) or irregular.

    • Often seen in nature, such as in honeycombs.

Shape of an Hexagon


Octagon

  • Definition: An eight-sided polygon with eight corners or vertices.

  • Properties:

    • The sum of the internal angles is 1080 degrees.

    • Can be regular (all sides and angles equal) or irregular.

    • Has eight edges.

Shape of an Octagon


Different Shapes for Kids


Shape

Name of the Shape

Property(s)

Triangle

Triangle

A shape having three sides or edges.


Other thighs about a triangle:

There are three types of triangles:


  • A triangle having its all sides equal is called an equilateral triangle.

  • A triangle having its two sides equal is called an isosceles triangle.


However, a triangle shown below has one side standing straight over the other side, in this case, two sides are equal and we call such a triangle a right-angled isosceles triangle.


square

square

All four sides equal

Rectangle

Rectangle

Two parallel sides are equal to each other and the other two parallel sides are equal to each other.

Circle

Circle

No sides


Have a radius

Diamond

Diamond

It has four sides just like a square

Heart shape

Heart shape

A heart shape with no sides

Arrow

Arrow

The left-headed arrow

A star

A star


Various Geometric Shapes


Different shapes for Kids


Image: Different shapes for Kids


List of all Shapes

List of Shapes

Circle

Square

Rectangle

Triangle

Oval

Pentagon

Hexagon

Heptagon

Octagon

Nonagon

Decagon

Ellipse

Rhombus

Trapezoid

Parallelogram

Kite

Rhomboid

Star

Crescent

Heart

Regular Pentagon

Regular Hexagon

Regular Octagon

Regular Nonagon

Regular Decagon

Scalene Triangle

Isosceles Triangle

Equilateral Triangle

Acute Triangle

Obtuse Triangle

Right Triangle

Right-Angled Triangle

Sector

Segment

Annulus

Trapezium

Dodecagon

Pentagon Star

Triangular Prism

Square Pyramid

Rectangular Prism

Cube

Octahedron

Dodecahedron

Icosahedron

Tetrahedron

Parallelepiped

Elliptical Cylinder

Conical Section

Torus

Spiral

Möbius Strip

Sierpinski Triangle

Penrose Triangle

Fractal Shape

Hyperbola

Ellipsoid


Examples of Objects and Their Corresponding Shapes

Object

Shape

Ball

Circle

Book

Rectangle

Clock

Circle

Cheese Slice

Triangle

Table

Rectangle or Square

Ring

Circle

Pyramid

Pyramid (Square base)

Dice

Cube

Stop Sign

Octagon

Honeycomb

Hexagon

Window Pane

Rectangle or Square

Coin

Circle

Baseball Cap

Oval

Rubik’s Cube

Cube

Pizza Slice

Triangle

Envelope

Rectangle or Square

Traffic Cone

Cone

Football

Ellipsoid

Computer Screen

Rectangle or Square

Pyramid (Egyptian)

Pyramid (Square base)

Jewelry Pendant

Various (often Circle or Oval)

Book Cover

Rectangle or Square

Bowl

Oval or Round

Light Bulb

Ellipsoid or Teardrop

House

Rectangle with Triangular Roof

Chalkboard

Rectangle

Toaster

Rectangle or Square

Balloon

Ellipsoid or Round


Check your Knowledge of Shape Name in English

  1. What shape is a standard soccer ball?

  2. What shape is typically used for a standard sheet of paper?

  3. What shape is a traditional wedding ring?

  4. What shape is a standard dice?

  5. What shape is a piece of pizza commonly cut into?

  6. What shape is a traffic sign with eight sides?

  7. What shape is a typical window pane?

  8. What shape is a standard baseball?

  9. What shape is the base of a pyramid in ancient Egypt?

  10. What shape is a classic dinner plate?

  11. What shape is commonly seen in a honeycomb?

  12. What shape is often used for a standard playing card?

  13. What shape is a standard traffic cone?

  14. What shape is a typical football?

  15. What shape is a book cover usually?


Find Out if you Got them All Right from the Answers Below.

  1. Sphere

  2. Rectangle

  3. Circle

  4. Cube

  5. Triangle

  6. Octagon

  7. Rectangle or Square

  8. Sphere

  9. Square

  10. Circle

  11. Hexagon

  12. Rectangle

  13. Cone

  14. Ellipsoid

  15. Rectangle or Square


Takeaway from the Page:

  • Shapes Overview: Different shapes are fundamental in both geometry and daily life, with examples ranging from basic polygons to complex 3D figures.

  • Common Objects and Shapes: Understanding the shapes of common objects helps in recognising and classifying them easily.

  • Knowledge Check: Testing your knowledge of all shapes names can reinforce understanding and application of geometric concepts.

FAQs on Names of Basic Shapes and Their Definitions with Image

1. What are the most common basic shapes in Maths?

The most common basic shapes, often called 2D or flat shapes, are fundamental in geometry. The main ones include:

  • Circle: A round shape with no corners or straight sides.
  • Square: A shape with four equal straight sides and four right angles.
  • Rectangle: A shape with four straight sides and four right angles, where opposite sides are equal in length.
  • Triangle: A shape with three straight sides and three corners.

2. How do we define a shape?

In simple terms, a shape is the form or outline of an object. It is defined by its boundary, which is created by a combination of lines, points, and curves. Learning about shapes helps us describe and understand the world around us.

3. What is the main difference between a square and a rectangle?

The main difference lies in their sides. In a square, all four sides are of equal length. In a rectangle, only the opposite sides are equal in length. This means every square is a special kind of rectangle, but not all rectangles are squares.

4. Can you give some examples of basic shapes in everyday objects?

Yes, basic shapes are everywhere! For example:

  • A wall clock or a plate is often a circle.
  • A slice of pizza or a sandwich cut diagonally is a triangle.
  • A book, a door, or a mobile phone screen is a rectangle.
  • A standard game die or a sugar cube is a cube (a 3D shape).

5. What makes a circle unique compared to other shapes like triangles or squares?

A circle is unique because it is made of a single, continuous curved line. Unlike polygons like squares or triangles, a circle has no straight sides and no corners (vertices). Every point on its boundary is the same distance from the center.

6. What is the difference between 2D and 3D shapes?

The primary difference is dimension. 2D (two-dimensional) shapes are flat and can be drawn on paper, having only length and width (e.g., square, circle). 3D (three-dimensional) shapes are solid objects that have length, width, and height/depth, meaning they take up space (e.g., cube, sphere).

7. How do you identify a triangle?

You can easily identify a triangle by its key properties. A triangle is a polygon that always has exactly three straight sides and three corners, also known as vertices. The sides can be of different lengths, but the count of sides and corners is always three.

8. Why is it important to learn about different shapes?

Learning about shapes is a crucial first step in understanding mathematics and the world. It helps develop skills in spatial awareness, problem-solving, and categorization. It forms the basis for more advanced topics in geometry and is also essential in art, design, and architecture.

9. What are polygons? Is a circle a polygon?

A polygon is any 2D shape that is closed and made up of straight lines. For example, triangles, squares, rectangles, and pentagons are all polygons. A circle, however, is not a polygon because its boundary is a curved line, not a series of straight lines.

10. How are 3D shapes like cubes and spheres related to 2D shapes?

3D shapes are often composed of or related to 2D shapes. For example, a cube is a 3D shape whose faces are six identical squares. A sphere (like a ball) is a 3D shape that is perfectly round, like a circle extended into three dimensions. Understanding 2D shapes helps us understand the properties of 3D objects.