AND gate
An AND gate’s output is 1 (high) only when all of its inputs are 1; if any input is 0, the output is 0. Its symbol is a D shape, flat on the input side and rounded on the output side.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Tony Kuphaldt’s open textbook Lessons in Electric Circuits puts the rule this way: the output is high if and only if all inputs are high. Boolean algebra writes AND as a product, Y = A·B or simply AB: Texas Instruments’ data sheet for the SN74HC08, four 2-input AND gates on one chip, gives each gate’s function as Y = A ● B, and a University at Buffalo course note writes a three-input AND gate as R = ABC. In logic the same operation is ∧, which Unicode names LOGICAL AND, also called wedge or conjunction. An AND gate can have more than two inputs, and the output is 1 only when every one of them is 1.
Also searched as: &, A·B, AND gate symbol, AND gate truth table, D-shaped gate, logical AND.
Truth table
| A | B | Y = A·B |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
The two standard shapes
Distinctive shape ANSI/IEEE Std 91: the D shape. Rectangular shape IEC 60617-12: a box marked &.
The rectangular form is a box with the qualifying symbol & inside it. Texas Instruments’ guide to IEEE Std 91 lists & as the AND gate or function, and notes that in this system the shape of the outline is not significant: the symbol inside says what the element does.
Look-alikes
A NAND gate is the same D shape with a small circle at the output, and its output is the opposite. The OR gate has a curved back and a pointed front.
Read next
- Next in Logic gate symbolsOR gateAn OR gate’s output is 1 when any of its inputs is 1, and 0 only when all of them are 0. Its symbol has a curved back and a body that sweeps to a point.
- In Logic symbolsAnd symbol (∧)∧ means “and” in logic. p ∧ q, read “p and q”, is a conjunction: it is true only when both p and q are true.
More logic gate symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or lines.
Sources
- Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume IV: Digital, chapter 3, Logic Gates, Tony R. Kuphaldt, open textbook (Design Science License), Tony R. Kuphaldt (ibiblio), Multiple-input gates: The AND gate
- Overview of IEEE Standard 91-1984: Explanation of Logic Symbols, SDYZ001A, 1996, Texas Instruments, §1 Introduction; Table 1, General qualifying symbols
- SNx4HC08 Quadruple 2-Input AND Gates (data sheet), SN74HC08 data sheet, Texas Instruments, 3 Description
- Interpreting Logic Gates (CSE111 lecture notes), H. Kershner, Spring 2009, University at Buffalo, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The AND gate
- Mathematical Operators, Range: 2200–22FF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Unicode Consortium, U+2227
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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