Sides

Sides is the plural of side and is used across mathematics, language, cuisine, and everyday discourse.

In geometry, a side is a straight line segment that forms part of the boundary of a polygon. Each side connects two vertices. A polygon with n sides is called an n-gon (triangle = 3-gon, quadrilateral = 4-gon, etc.). The perimeter of a polygon is the sum of its side lengths. In triangles, the side lengths determine the shape, and the triangle inequality states that the sum of the lengths of any two sides must exceed the length of the third. A polygon is regular if all its sides (and all its angles) are equal. In three-dimensional figures, the surfaces are called faces; the term side is sometimes used informally to refer to faces, though this is less precise.

Outside pure geometry, sides can refer to surfaces of objects or to opposing camps in a debate. The phrase “sides of an issue” points to different viewpoints, and to “take sides” means to align with a group or position. Phrases like “on both sides of the aisle” describe bipartisan or dual-position contexts.

In culinary usage, sides or side dishes are foods served with the main course, such as fries, rice, vegetables, or salads. The term helps distinguish accompanying dishes from the main entrée.

In sports and team contexts, a side can denote a team or squad competing in a match. The word’s meaning is shaped by context, ranging from geometry to rhetoric to daily life.