You’re about to learn some useful shapes and shape adjectives. For even more English vocabulary, check out Maths Vocabulary in English: Do You Know the Basics?.
OK. Take a look at this image. Can you describe it?
Describing simple shapes in English (especially when theyβre 3D) isnβt as easy as it seems.
In this post, youβre going to:
- Learn words for common 2D and 3D shapes in English.
- Learn some shape adjectives to describe objects more generally.
- Learn some common English idioms and phrases with shapes.
- Laugh at some silly pictures.
Enjoy!
Common 2D Shapes
Four-Sided Shapes
Square
noun — square
adjective — square
Phrases with “Square”
We can talk about a square meal, meaning a proper meal that will kill your hunger and make you feel nice and happy and ready to take on the world. It may or may not include hummus.
Rectangle
noun — rectangle
adjective — rectangular
Parallelogram
noun — parallelogram
adjective — parallelogramatic*
*No one knows this. I actually had to Google it.
OK. This may not be the most useful shape in the world. But itβs kind of pretty, right?
Round Shapes
Circle
noun — circle
adjective — circular
Phrases with “Circle”
We use βcircleβ in lots of different phrases.
Here are some of the most common ones:
A vicious circle — When something bad causes something else bad to happen, which then causes something else bad to happen. Forever.
Think about people getting further and further into debt or when people argue, making each other angrier andΒ angrier.
Go around in circles — When you do something for a long time but achieve NOTHING!
Like when youβre trying to change the settings on your phone so that it stops waking you up in the middle of the night telling you about the royal wedding. But you canβt find the βturn royal wedding offβ button. So after an hour of trying to fix the problem, you just give up because youβve been going around in circles for an hour.
Inner circle — This is an exclusive or elite group at the centre of power. Maybe itβs something big, like a whole country (the presidentβs inner circle) or something smaller like a company (the managerβs inner circle). People in an inner circle are usually quite secretive.
Semicircle
noun — semicircle
adjective — semicircular
We use this a lot when talking about seating — perhaps in a theatre or just when kids are sitting around a teacher:
βCome on, kids. Sit in a semicircle, and Iβll read you a story.β
Oval
noun — oval
adjective — oval
Phrases with “Oval”
The US presidentβs office is called the Oval Office. I just had a look on Google and yes — itβs definitely shaped like an oval.
Do you like cricket? No? Me neither. But one of the most famous cricket grounds in the UK is called The Oval.
When we were kids, my Dad took my brother and me to watch a cricket match there. We were bored after an hour.
Five hours later the cricket playing stopped, and we could finally leave. I asked my Dad who had won the match.
βOh, the match isnβt finished yet,β he said. βTheyβll be playing for another two or three days.β
Seriously? Cricket is weird.
Three-Sided Shapes
Triangle
noun — triangle
adjective — triangular
Phrases with “Triangle”
Love triangle — Bob likes Yasmine, but Yasmine’s more interested in Jo. Jo doesnβt like anyone (except for his cat, Timi, who likes sleeping, mostly). Bob, Yasmine and Jo are trapped in a love triangle! The perfect set-up for soap operas.
The Golden Triangle — This is the name of a part of Asia that covers where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.
There are different types of triangle:
Equilateral triangle
Equilateral triangle — all the sides are the same length, and all the angles are the same.
Isosceles triangle
Isosceles triangle — two sides are the same length, and two of the angles are the same.
Right-angled triangle
Right-angled triangle — one of the angles is 90 degrees.
Shapes with More Than Four Sides
Pentagon
noun — pentagon
adjective — pentagonal
We all know about the Pentagon, right?
It seems US government institutions like naming things after shapes.
Hexagon
noun — hexagon
adjective — hexagonal
Octagon
noun — octagon
adjective — octagonal
Phrases with “Octagon”
In some institutions, like schools and universities, you might find the octagon, which is an octagonal space, perhaps with grass in it, perhaps not.
You can also have an octagon theatre. Itβs a theatre in the shape of an octagon. Obviously.
Common 3D Shapes
Cone
noun — cone
adjective — conical
Phrases with “Cone”
We have ice cream cones. Probably because theyβre shaped like a cone.
And of course, there are pine cones:
Cube
noun — cube
adjective — cubic
Phrases with “Cube”
We see cubes EVERYWHERE!
Ice cubes:
Rubikβs cube:
And the rapper, Ice Cube:

We also use “cubic” to describe three-dimensional areas, e.g., cubic centimetres (cm3), cubic metres (m3), etc.
Cylinder
noun — cylinder
adjective — cylindrical
Pyramid
noun — pyramid
adjective — pyramidal*
*This is technically the adjective form of “pyramid,” but nobody uses it. We just say βpyramid-shaped.β
We all know about these beauties:
But I canβt talk about pyramids without thinking about one of my favourite songs, Pyramid Song.
Sphere
noun — sphere
adjective — spherical
Phrases with “Sphere”
Public sphere — A place or platform where people can get together and discuss social and political issues. This can be virtual, like social media, physical, like a town hall, or abstract:
“Heβs retiring from the public sphere.”
Sphere of interest — Google defines this as βA country or area in which another country has power to affect developments though it has no formal authority.β I define it as βPlaces that powerful countries can use to make themselves more powerful.β Politics is fun!
Disc
noun — disc
adjective — disc-shaped
Less Common Shapes
Diamond
noun — diamond
adjective — diamond-shaped
Heart
noun — heart
adjective — heart-shaped
Also, ’90s kids will remember this: Heart-Shaped Box
Kite
noun — kite
adjective — kite-shaped
Star
noun — star
adjective — star-shaped
Spiral
noun — spiral
adjective — spiral
Phrases with “Spiral”
There are spiral staircases:
Spiral out of control — This is when a series of events becomes more and more chaotic, and
the situation gets completely out of control. Iβd imagine this happens a lot at childrenβs birthday parties. Not that Iβd know — I like to avoid large groups of children. So much chaos!
A downward spiral — This is when a bad thing just gets worse and worse (similar to βvicious circle,β above). I always think about addiction when I think about this phrase. When someone gets addicted to drugs or gambling or cheese, it just gets worse and worse. Theyβre stuck in a downward spiral.
Downward Spiral is also the name of one of the best albums ever created. Hereβs a song you might recognize from it.
Did you notice that the adjective form of many of these contains β-shapedβ?
In fact, β-shapedβ is really useful. You can add it to anything!
- Bottle-shaped
- Hand-shaped
- Leaf-shaped
- Walrus-shaped
When weβre describing more complicated, less geometric objects informally, we often use a phrase like βsort of,β βkind ofβ or βlikeβ to help the listener understand that weβre describing something quite abstract:
“Itβs a sort of egg-shaped thing.”
“Her dress was really weird — it was, like, fish-shaped. Seriously!”
Shape Adjectives to Describe Objects
Bent
Bent — not straight and with a sharp angle
Curved
Curved – not straight, like the side of a circle
Wavy
Wavy — with repeated curves
Angular
Angular — with sharp corners or points
Symmetrical
Symmetrical — the same on both sides, a mirror image of itself!
Bulbous

Bulbous – sort of fat and round. I always just think of a nose.
Concave
Concave – going inwards, like a cave
Convex
Convex – going outwards, not like a cave
Flat
Flat – this is usually used to describe a surface. It means the surface is completely 2D.
Round
Round – like a circle or a sphere!
Forked
Forked – When one line becomes two! Snakes have forked tongues. You can also have a fork in the road.
Pointy
Pointy – with a sharp end, like a sword.
Tapered
Tapered – getting thinner at the end
Twisted
Twisted – when the shape is changed by bending or turning
Like this:
Or this:

Get the idea?
Thick
Thick – when opposite sides are far apart.
Thin
Thin – when opposite sides are near.
There you go: (pretty much) all the shapes in English plus shape adjectives and idioms!
Now, you’re ready to describe this picture:
Can you do it?
Use the shape words you’ve learned to describe the picture and leave your answer in the comments.
Iβll let you know how you did!
Did you find this useful? Do you know any people (or chameleons) that might also benefit from this? Then BE AWESOME AND SHARE! Spread the knowledge!
18 thoughts on “76 Must-Know Shapes, Shape Adjectives and Phrases with Shapes”
Man, I can hardly describe it in my native language! π
Haha! Yes!
That’s the challenge! π
A triangular pyramid, on top of a cube with a bulbous sphere out the side of it, the front has 2 square sides in front of it and over the pyramid.
(that made my brain exercise).
Thanks!!
That was perfect! Nice one!
Yeah — it makes my brain hurt, too π
Thanks a lot. This article is very helpful
You’re welcome, Akmal! π
I never thought anyone would bother. It’s surprisingly interesting to read. Thanks!
Thanks Pep.
Yep! Who would’ve thought that shapes could be so interesting?! π
a triangular pyramid is standing over a cube which at the one side of cube are two thin parallel rectangular wall which are parallel with cube side and at to side of cube is a cylindrical hole which a bulbous vase shaped object is passing through it.
Wow! That was an EXCELLENT attempt!
A couple of small pieces of advice to help make your description a little clearer:
1. try to avoid overuse of prepositions. Instead of “at to side of cube” you can say “to the side of the cube”
2. Articles are your friends here! They signal whether it’s a new cube “a cube” or the same cube already mentioned “the cube.”
3. Try breaking it down into fewer, shorter sentences. It gives the reader space to breathe!
But on the whole, excellent work! I would easily be able to draw the image just from this description. π
HI, I THINK IT WOULD BE A MULTI-SHAPED CURVY LINE CHAOTIC THING. IN OTHER HAND, WHAT A HELPFUL ARTICLE!!!. THAKS FOR TEACHING US.
Yeah! That’s a good description! π
Thanks for the thanks and keep up the good work!
Thank you so much. Not only it was really useful, but also extremely fun to read.
what is the word for cat eyed (pupil) shape
Good question.
I’d go for “almond-shaped.”
There’s a cube with a concave to the side of it. A bulbous shaped item appears to come out of the concave. On the other side of the cube, there are two thin and symmetrical squares parallel to each other. A pyramid-shaped object sits on the top of the cube with a ring-shaped square placed on the middle part of the pyramid. The back two sides of the cube do not appear to have anything else around them.
Wow! This is an awesome description.
Great work Bashayer! π
What I liked most were the last 10-12 words. Thanks a lot!