Shapes: Different Shape Names (with Useful List, Types)

Are you looking for different shape names in English? Here you will find a list of shapes with different types and useful example sentences. If you work in a business that requires the use of mathematics, for example then it would be very important that you are aware of the English names for shapes.

However, this may not be the only reason that you need to learn this information. When taking part in day-to-day conversations, you will need to learn the shape names in order to describe something or be able to understand what someone is talking about, for example, if a person tells you about ‘the square plate.’ Here, you can learn shape names and further expand your vocabulary.

Shapes

What Are Shapes?

Shapes are geometric figures, or the pattern an outline falls into. Shapes are often drawn (whether by ink, pencil, or digitally), but they occur in life, also. Frequently, people picture 2D (two-dimensional, or flat) images when they hear the word “shapes,” so most of the objects listed in this lesson will be 2D shapes, but some will be 3D as well.

Different Types of Shapes

There are many, many different types of shapes, and there are names for basically all of them. The following list focuses on more common shapes that you’re more likely to encounter or to need or want to know the name of.

Shape names with pictures

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Two-Dimensional (Flat) Shapes

• Circle: A circle is an equally round shape. Picture the lid of a jar, flat, from above. That is a circle. The wheels on a car are circular, as well. So are the holes in most lined paper and notebooks.
• Oval: An oval is basically a circle that’s been a little squished. The cups of over-the-ear headphones are generally referred to as oval. So is the profile of an egg. Some make a distinction between circles that have been squished in the middle versus circles that have been squished at the top, the former being called an ellipse, but common usage treats both as ovals.
• Rectangle: A rectangle is a shape with four sides, made up of two sets of parallel lines, with four right angles (90 degree angles; picture a capital L). It doesn’t matter whether the sets of sides are the same length. Picture a plain piece of printing paper. This is a rectangle, with one set of sides (generally the top and bottom) shorter than the other set of sides (generally the left and right).
• Square: A square is a very specific type of rectangle, one with four equal sides. Some boxes have a square footprint. Origami paper is square.
• Triangle: A triangle is a shape with three straight sides. These sides can be any length, with any degree of angle, as long as the three sides are joined at their ends. Many warning signs are triangular. A slice of a round pizza is mostly triangular (the crust is a little too rounded to be perfect).
• Pentagon: A pentagon is a shape with five sides. A basic drawing of a house, with two lines for the roof, a line for each side, and a line for the bottom is generally a pentagon.

Shapes with more sides are generally named based on how many sides they have. A hexagon has six sides, heptagon has seven, and an octagon has eight.

Three-Dimensional Shapes

Three-dimensional shapes are ones that aren’t just flat on paper, but also take up room vertically. Only a few are really commonly named.

• Sphere: A sphere is a 3D circle, like a ball.
• Cube: A cube is a 3D square, like a box.
• Pyramid: A pyramid is a 3D triangle. The giant structures in Egypt are pyramids, as is the Luxor in Las Vegas.

Shape Names

It’s important to build a good vocabulary, in any language. The more words you know and understand, the better you can communicate. Even if you don’t use the words often, understanding them allows you to follow along with a conversation, even if it ventures a little outside of your comfort zone. This lesson is specifically focused on different types of shapes.

List of Shapes

• Nonagon
• Octagon
• Heptagon
• Hexagon
• Triangle
• Scalene triangle
• Right triangle
• Parallelogram
• Rhombus
• Square
• Pentagon
• Circle
• Oval
• Heart
• Cross
• Arrow
• Cube
• Cylinder
• Star
• Crescent

Different Shape Names with Pictures and Examples

Nonagon

The math student measured each side of the nonagon until he had measurements for all nine edges.

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Octagon

The sectional shape is a quarter of an octagon.

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Heptagon

The pagoda has a base of heptagon.

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Hexagon

A hexagon is a six – sided figure.

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Triangle

The sum of all the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees.

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Scalene triangle

A scalene triangle is a triangle that has three unequal sides.

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Right triangle

The hypotenuse is the longest side of a right triangle.

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Parallelogram

These are the opposite sides of the parallelogram.

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Rhombus

A rhombus is a simple quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length.

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Square

The interior angles of a square are right angles or angles of 90 degrees.

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Pentagon

Draw a pentagon, a regular five-sided figure.

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Circle

The students sit in a circle on the floor.

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Oval

The shape of the earth is an oval.

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Heart

The pool was in the shape of a heart.

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Cross

The cross is the symbol of Christianity.

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Arrow

It flew straight as an arrow.

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Cube

The box was cube-shaped.

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Cylinder

The cylinder is rotated 180 degrees.

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Star

She cuts these paper into star-shaped.

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Crescent

He has a crescent–shaped knife.

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Shapes | Picture

Learn different shapes with images to improve and expand your vocabulary, especially shapes and colors vocabulary words in English.

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Shapes Names Video

There are shapes everywhere, and so references to them happen frequently. Hopefully, after this lesson, you’re feeling prepared to deal with shapes!