Although parallel and perpendicular lines are the two basic and most commonly used lines in geometry, they are quite different from each other. The following table shows the difference between parallel and perpendicular lines . A perpendicular is a line that intersects another line at a right angle. Learn the definition of perpendicular , symbol, properties, real life examples, and more. What is a perpendicular line? Find out about right angles, perpendicular lines, and parallel lines in this Teaching Wiki. Includes learning resources. Perpendicular is also used as a noun: a perpendicular is a line which is perpendicular to a given line or plane. Perpendicularity is one particular instance of the more general mathematical concept of orthogonality; perpendicularity is the orthogonality of classical geometric objects.