In geometry, the orientation, attitude, bearing, direction, or angular position of an object – such as a line, plane or rigid body – is part of the description of how it is placed in the space it occupies. More specifically, it refers to the imaginary rotation that is needed to move the object from a reference placement to its current placement. A rotation may not be enough to reach the current placement, in which case it may be necessary to add an imaginary translation to change the object's position. The position and orientation together fully describe how the object is placed in space. The above-mentioned imaginary rotation and translation may be thought to occur in any order, as the orientation of an object does not change when it translates, and its position does not change when it rotates.

A shape is a graphical representation of an object's form or its external boundary, outline, or external surface; it is distinct from other object properties, such as color, texture, or material type. In geometry, shape excludes information about the object's location, scale, orientation and reflection. A figure is a representation including both shape and size.