how many sides does an isosceles triangle have

An isosceles triangle has 3 sides.

Quick Scoop

• Every triangle, including an isosceles triangle, always has 3 sides by definition.

• What makes it isosceles is that 2 of those 3 sides are equal in length.

So:

• Total sides: 3
• Equal sides: 2
• Remaining side: 1 different side (called the base).

If a shape has more than 3 sides, it’s no longer a triangle but another polygon (like a quadrilateral with 4 sides or a pentagon with 5).

TL;DR: An isosceles triangle is still just a triangle, so it has 3 sides, with 2 of them the same length.