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conic section

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conic section

 
Use conic section in a Sentence
–noun Geometry.
a curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone; an ellipse, a circle, a parabola, or a hyperbola.
Also called conic.

Origin:
1655–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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conic section  


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n.  

  1. The intersection of a right circular cone and a plane, which generates one of a group of plane curves, including the circle, ellipse, hyperbola, and parabola.

  2. A graph of the general quadratic equation in two variables.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Science Dictionary
conic section  
A curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a cone. Conic sections can appear as circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, or parabolas, depending on the angle of the intersecting plane relative to the cone's base.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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