Which shape is commonly described as having eight sides and is often used for stop signs?

• A. Octagon
• B. Hexagon
• C. Pentagon
• D. Heptagon

Answer: (A)

Shapes are named by how many sides they have, so an eight-sided figure is called an octagon. The name comes from octa- meaning eight and -gon meaning angle or corner, so you can picture eight equal sides and eight angles. Stop signs are designed as regular octagons, which makes them stand out on the road and be easy to recognize from far away. That combination of eight sides and a familiar traffic-sign use points directly to octagon as the right term. The other shapes—six sides for a hexagon, five for a pentagon, seven for a heptagon—don’t fit the clue because they don’t have eight sides.