Meaning & use

tessellation

noun·Academic

A pattern made of one or more repeated shapes that fit together perfectly with no gaps or overlaps.

See it in a sentence

The bathroom floor featured a striking tessellation of small hexagonal tiles.

M.C. Escher was famous for artwork built from intricate tessellations of birds and fish.

A note on using this word

Tessellations are common in geometry and art; only certain shapes, such as triangles, squares, and hexagons, can tessellate on their own.

Words with a similar meaning

mosaictiling

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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