Britannica AI Icon

Quick Summary

In mathematics, a polytope is a geometric object that generalizes concepts like polygons and polyhedra to any number of dimensions. Essentially, it's the convex hull of a finite set of points.1

In simpler terms:
* A 2-dimensional polytope is a polygon (like a square or triangle).
* A 3-dimensional polytope is a polyhedron (like a cube or pyramid), which is made up of polygonal faces, edges, and vertices.2

The study of polytopes, particularly their combinatorial properties (how their faces, edges, and vertices are arranged), is a significant area within combinatorial geometry.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.