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symmetry

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪmɪtri/
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Definition of symmetry

noun (plural symmetries)

[mass noun]
  • the quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis:this series has a line of symmetry through its centre a crystal structure with hexagonal symmetry
  • correct or pleasing proportion of the parts of a thing:the overall symmetry makes the poem pleasant to the ear
  • similarity or exact correspondence between different things:the political symmetry between the two debates [count noun]:history sometimes exhibits weird symmetries between events
  • [count noun] Physics & Mathematics a law or operation where a physical property or process has an equivalence in two or more directions.

Derivatives

symmetrize

(also symmetrise) verb

Origin:

mid 16th century (denoting proportion): from French symétrie or Latin symmetria, from Greek, from sun- 'with' + metron 'measure'

Spelling help

Remember that symmetry begins with sy- and has a double m in the middle.

symmetry in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of symmetry in the US English dictionary

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