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What does��tessellate mean?

To tessellate is to form a pattern of shapes that fit together perfectly, without any gaps.The resulting pattern can be called a tessellation. Such a pattern can be described as tessellated. This often often refers to a pattern that includes a repetition of one particular shape, such as the repetition of squares in a checkerboard. But tessellations can also be formed from multiple shapes. For example, a classic black-and-white soccer ball is an example of a tessellation that consists of two different shapes: hexagons and pentagons.Tesselate can be used in the sense of someone doing the tessellating (as in I tessellated these squares to form a checkerboard) or things tessellating by themselves (as in The shapes tessellate to form a pattern.)A tessellation is a kind of mosaic. They’re often seen on surfaces that have been covered in tiles. That’s because floor and wall tiles are often designed so that they can tessellate—fit together perfectly, without any overlap or gaps.Less commonly, tessellate can be used as an adjective meaning the same thing as a tessellated. Tessellate is sometimes spelled with one l, as tesselate.[caption id="attachment_169801" align="alignnone" width="300"] Source: Getty. These hexagons have been tessellated to form a tessellation.[/caption]Example: Hexagons were tessellated together to form a honeycomb pattern on the side of the building.