washerlike

Washerlike is an adjective used to describe objects or features that resemble a hardware washer: a flat, circular ring with a central hole. The term derives from washers, thin flat discs used in mechanical assemblies to distribute loads, serve as spacers, or provide a bearing surface.

Geometrically, a washer is the annulus, the region between two concentric circles. A washerlike solid in three dimensions is typically a hollow disk or annular prism with a uniform thickness around a central void. Its essential dimensions are the outer diameter, inner diameter, and thickness. In practice, variations include different thicknesses or rim profiles, but the defining feature is the presence of a central hole within a disk-shaped form.

In engineering and design, washerlike forms appear as components such as spacers, gaskets, or seals where annular geometry is advantageous. In computer-aided design and modeling, describing a feature as washerlike communicates a ring-shaped cross-section. In mathematics and physics, the term is associated with the washer method, a calculus technique that uses annular cross-sections to compute volumes by revolving a region around an axis.

Related terms include washer (hardware), annulus, and torus. The concept is used across disciplines to describe flat, circular components with a central opening, or objects that locally resemble such a ring-shaped geometry.