barber pole illusion

noun

An optical illusion where, when a diagonally striped pole is rotated around its vertical axis (horizontally), it appears as though the stripes are moving in the direction of its vertical axis (downwards in the case of the animation to the right) rather than around it.

Similar
barber pole effect
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbarber pole illusion (plural barber pole illusions)

plural barber pole illusions · alternative barber-pole illusion · alternative barberpole illusion

  1. An optical illusion where, when a diagonally striped pole is rotated around its vertical axis (horizontally), it appears as though the stripes are moving in the direction of its vertical axis (downwards in the case of the animation to the right) rather than around it.

    Synonyms: barber pole effect

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn optical illusion where, when a diagonally striped pole is rotated around its vertical axis (horizontally), it appears as though the stripes are moving in the direction of its vertical axis (downwards in the case of the animation to the right) rather than around it.

Similar
barber pole effect
Also see
barber pole effect
Cite this entry
APA

barber pole illusion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barber%20pole%20illusion

MLA

“barber pole illusion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barber%20pole%20illusion. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barber pole illusion,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barber%20pole%20illusion.

Source: barber pole illusion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.