Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

paren

noun

/ˈpɛrən/

Definition

A symbol used to enclose a part of a sentence or mathematical expression, often referred to as parentheses.

Examples

In the equation (2 + 3) × 5, the paren indicates that you should add 2 and 3 first.
When writing code, always make sure that your parens are properly matched.
She used parens to include a clarification in her sentence.

Meaning

The word ‘paren’ is used informally in programming and mathematics to refer to a parenthesis, which is an opening or closing bracket used to clarify or group parts of an expression.