cone

[kohn] noun, verb, coned, con·ing.
noun
1.
Geometry.
a.
a solid whose surface is generated by a line passing through a fixed point and a fixed plane curve not containing the point, consisting of two equal sections joined at a vertex.
b.
a plane surface resembling the cross section of a solid cone.
2.
anything shaped like a cone: sawdust piled up in a great cone; the cone of a volcano.
3.
ice-cream cone.
4.
Botany.
a.
the more or less conical multiple fruit of the pine, fir, etc., consisting of overlapping or valvate scales bearing naked ovules or seeds; a strobile.
b.
a similar fruit, as in cycads or club mosses.
5.
Anatomy. one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to color and intensity of light. Compare rod ( def 17 ).
6.
one of a series of cone-shaped markers placed along a road, as around an area of highway construction, especially to exclude or divert motor vehicles.
7.
(in a taper thread screw or bevel gear) an imaginary cone or frustum of a cone concentric to the axis and defining the pitch surface or one of the extremities of the threads or teeth.
8.
Ceramics, pyrometric cone.
verb (used with object)
9.
to shape like a cone or a segment of a cone.
00:10
Cone is always a great word to know.
So is middle ear. Does it mean:
a large, triangular muscle covering the joint of the shoulder, the action of which raises the arm away from the side of the body
the middle portion of the ear, consisting of the tympanic membrane and an air-filled chamber lined with mucous membrane, that contains the malleus, incus, and stapes.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1480–90; < Latin cōnus < Greek kônos pine-cone, cone-shaped figure; akin to hone1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Cone
Collins
World English Dictionary
cone (kəʊn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a.  a geometric solid consisting of a plane base bounded by a closed curve, often a circle or an ellipse, every point of which is joined to a fixed point, the vertex, lying outside the plane of the base. A right circular cone has a vertex perpendicularly above or below the centre of a circular base. Volume of a cone: 1⁄3πr²h, where r is the radius of the base and h is the height of the cone
 b.  See also conic section a geometric surface formed by a line rotating about the vertex and connecting the peripheries of two closed plane bases, usually circular or elliptical, above and below the vertex
2.  anything that tapers from a circular section to a point, such as a wafer shell used to contain ice cream
3.  a.  the reproductive body of conifers and related plants, made up of overlapping scales, esp the mature female cone, whose scales each bear a seed
 b.  Technical name: strobilus a similar structure in horsetails, club mosses, etc
4.  a small cone-shaped bollard used as a temporary traffic marker on roads
5.  Also called: retinal cone any one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to colour and bright light
 
—vb
6.  (tr) to shape like a cone or part of a cone
 
[C16: from Latin cōnus, from Greek kōnus pine cone, geometrical cone]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cone
1562, from L. conus "a wedge, peak, cone," from Gk. konos "cone, spinning top, pine cone," from PIE base *ko(n)- "to sharpen."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

cone (kōn)
n.

  1. A solid body having a circle for its base and sides inclined so as to meet at a point above the base.

  2. See cone cell.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
cone   (kōn)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

  1. A three-dimensional surface or solid object in which the base is a circle and upper surface narrows to form a point. The surface of a cone is formed mathematically by moving a line that passes through a fixed point (the vertex) along a circle.

  2. A rounded or elongated reproductive structure that consists of sporophylls or scales arranged spirally or in an overlapping fashion along a central stem, as in conifers and cycads. For example, the familiar woody pinecone is actually the female cone, made up of ovule-bearing scales. The smaller male cones of the pine consist of thin overlapping microsporophylls. These produce pollen that is carried by the wind to fertilize ovules in the female cones. When the seeds in the female cones mature, the cones of many pine species expand to release them. In some pine species, cones release seeds only in response to the presence of fire. See also strobilus.

  3. One of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Cones are extremely sensitive to light and can distinguish among different wavelengths. Cones are responsible for vision during daylight and for the ability to see colors. Compare rod.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The nebula's unique shape comes from gas and dust emitted in cone-shaped bursts
  from the dying star at its center.
They look different from mushrooms, lacking the flat cap and having instead one
  that is cone-shaped.
Steep, cone-shaped volcanoes form when plates collide.
First, the cone-shaped rock formations complement the similarly shaped balloons.
Image for Cone
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriHome Advisor
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT