phrasal verb · academic

run parallel to

UK/rʌn ˌpærəˈlɛl tuː/US/rʌn ˌpærəˈlɛl tu/pa·RAL·lel

task2speaking

to occur at the same time or in a similar way as something else; to be comparable

Examples

The increase in online shopping runs parallel to the decline of high-street stores.

His research runs parallel to recent studies on climate adaptation.

Policy changes often run parallel to shifts in public opinion.

Band 8 sentence

The pattern of urban sprawl runs parallel to rising car ownership, which planners must address together.

Collocations

  • run parallel to + noun
  • run parallel with (less formal/colloquial)

Word family

parallel adjparallelism n

Common mistakes

run parallel withrun parallel to

run parallel each otherrun parallel to each other

Say it for a higher band

5happen at the same time6coincide with7+run parallel to

Synonyms

coincide with

Easily confused

coincide with

The festival coincided with the national holiday.

Related words

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In run …

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