What shape of arch is characteristic of Gothic architecture?

The shape of arch characteristic of Gothic architecture is the pointed arch.

Also called an ogival or Gothic arch, it has two curved sides that meet at a pointed crown. Medieval builders valued it because its geometry could direct weight and thrust more efficiently than a semicircular arch. Used with rib vaults and flying buttresses, it helped support taller buildings with thinner walls and much larger windows.

The pointed arch did not originate in medieval Gothic Europe. Versions had been used centuries earlier in Byzantine, Sasanian, and Islamic architecture, and an early example is associated with Bronze Age Nippur. What changed in the 12th century was its systematic use in French and English church construction as part of a broader structural system.

A round arch is more strongly associated with Roman and Romanesque architecture, while ogee arches are a later, more elaborate form with a double curve. Gothic buildings use many arch shapes, but the pointed arch is the defining visual and structural type.