Hyperbola definition |Dictionary.com

Related Searches

on Ask.com

examples of hyperbolas

equation hyperbola

graph of hyperbolas

examples of hyperbolas in the real world

definition of a hyperbola

real life examples of hyperbolas

hyperbola functions

all equations of hyperbolas

hyperbola applications

foci hyperbola

uses of hyperbolas

standard form for hyperbolas

Hyperbola

8 dictionary results for: Hyperbola

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

hy·per·bo·la

[hahy-pur-buh-luh] Pronunciation Key

–noun Geometry.

the set of points in a plane whose distances to two fixed points in the plane have a constant difference; a curve consisting of two distinct and similar branches, formed by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone when the plane makes a greater angle with the base than does the generator of the cone. Equation: x²/a² − y²/b² = ±1.

[Origin: 1660–70; < NL < Gk hyperbol the geometrical term, lit., excess. See hyperbole

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hy·per·bo·la (hī-pûr'bə-lə) Pronunciation Key

(click for larger image in new window)

n. pl. hy·per·bo·las or hy·per·bo·lae (-lē)
A plane curve having two branches, formed by the intersection of a plane with both halves of a right circular cone at an angle parallel to the axis of the cone. It is the locus of points for which the difference of the distances from two given points is a constant.

[New Latin, from Greek huperbolē, a throwing beyond, excess (from the relationship between the line joining the vertices of a conic and the line through its focus and parallel to its directrix); see hyperbole.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
hyperbola

1668, from Gk. hyperbole "extravagance," lit. "a throwing beyond" (see hyperbole). Perhaps so called because the inclination of the plane to the base of the cone exceeds that of the side of the cone.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

hyperbola
noun
an open curve formed by a plane that cuts the base of a right circular cone

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hyperbola (hī-pûr'bə-lə) Pronunciation Key

(click for larger image in new window)

Plural hyperbolas or hyperbolae (hī-pûr'bə-lē)
A plane curve having two separate parts or branches, formed when two cones that point toward one another are intersected by a plane that is parallel to the axes of the cones.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
hyperbola [(heye-pur-buh-luh)]

In geometry, a curve having a single bend, with lines going infinitely far from the bend.

Note: The path of a comet that enters the solar system and then leaves forever is a hyperbolic curve (half of a hyperbola).

[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hyperbola

Hy*per"bo*la\, n. [Gr. ?, prop., an overshooting, excess, i. e., of the angle which the cutting plane makes with the base. See Hyperbole.] (Geom.) A curve formed by a section of a cone, when the cutting plane makes a greater angle with the base than the side of the cone makes. It is a plane curve such that the difference of the distances from any point of it to two fixed points, called foci, is equal to a given distance. See Focus. If the cutting plane be produced so as to cut the opposite cone, another curve will be formed, which is also an hyperbola. Both curves are regarded as branches of the same hyperbola. See Illust. of Conic section, and Focus.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT