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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

parallel

/ˈpɛɹəˌlɛl/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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Keep the opening syllable strongest.

The middle vowel is relaxed and the last syllable has a smaller beat. The repeated written l letters do not require extra syllables or pauses.

3 syllables · Stress on syllable 1

TRY SAYING
The tasks can run in parallel.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does parallel mean?

adjective

  1. Equally distant from one another at all points.
  2. Having the same overall direction; the comparison is indicated with "to".
  3. Either not intersecting, or coinciding.
More meanings (19)

adjective

  1. Involving the processing of multiple tasks at the same time.
  2. (figuratively) Analogous, similar, comparable.
  3. Coexisting but normally not interacting with the regular reality.

adverb

  1. With a parallel relationship.

noun

  1. One of a set of parallel lines.
  2. Direction conformable to that of another line.
  3. A line of latitude.
  4. An arrangement of electrical components such that a current flows along two or more paths; see in parallel.
  5. Something identical or similar in essential respects.
  6. A comparison made; elaborate tracing of similarity.
  7. One of a series of long trenches constructed before a besieged fortress, by the besieging force, as a cover for troops supporting the attacking batteries. They are roughly parallel to the line of outer defenses of the fortress.
  8. A character consisting of two parallel vertical lines, used in the text to direct attention to a similarly marked note in the margin or at the foot of a page.

verb

  1. To construct or place something parallel to something else.
  2. Of a path etc: To be parallel to something else.
  3. Of a process etc: To be analogous to something else.
  4. To compare or liken something to something else.
  5. To make to conform to something else in character, motive, aim, etc.
  6. To equal; to match; to correspond to.
  7. To produce or adduce as a parallel.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈpɛɹəˌlɛl/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

However just the parallel drawn, in some of the preceding pages, between his Puritan ancestor and himself, it fails in this point.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe House of the Seven GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #77
In about half-an-hour I found myself nearly parallel with the high crag which I had seen from a distance in the morning.
George BorrowWild Wales: Its People, Language and SceneryProject Gutenberg ebook #648
More book examples (3)
But the most remarkable observation made during this voyage related to an extraordinary fall of temperature which, as recorded, is without parallel.
John M. (John Mackenzie) BaconThe Dominion of the Air: The Story of Aerial NavigationProject Gutenberg ebook #861
One can not fail to notice the remarkable parallel between these facts and the behavior of Hydra in the presence of strychnine.
VariousThe Scientific Monthly, October to December, 1915Project Gutenberg ebook #987
With a sheet of glass passed across the web, I gather a series of lime- threads which remain fixed in parallel lines.
Jean-Henri FabreThe Life of the SpiderTranslated by Alexander Teixeira de MattosProject Gutenberg ebook #1887