: a solid generated by rotating a right triangle about one of its legs
called alsoright circular cone
b
: a solid bounded by a circular or other closed plane base and the surface formed by line segments joining every point of the boundary of the base to a common vertex see Volume Formulas Table
c
: a surface traced by a moving straight line passing through a fixed vertex
2
a
: a mass of ovule-bearing or pollen-bearing scales or bracts in most conifers or in cycads that are arranged usually on a somewhat elongated axis
b
: any of several flower or fruit clusters suggesting a cone
3
: something that resembles a cone in shape: such as
a
: any of the conical photosensitive receptor cells of the vertebrate retina that function in color vision compare rodsense 3
b
: any of a family (Conidae) of tropical marine gastropod mollusks that inject their prey with a potent toxin
c
: the apex of a volcano
d
: a crisp usually cone-shaped wafer for holding ice cream
Noun
He scooped out the popcorn with a paper cone.
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Noun
For one, customers can join Graeter's rewards program through the shop's app and redeem a free single dip sugar cone of Elena's Blueberry Pie ice cream.—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2025 Forecasters have said that conditions outside the cone of uncertainty—used to illustrate the likely path of the storm center—may still pose hazards.—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025 The soft-serve here comes piled high on the cone.—Kat Robinson River Valley Eats, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025 Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream shops provide free baby cones and sell prepackaged Dogsters ice cream-style treats.—Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cone
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, "cone in geometry," borrowed from Latin cōnus, borrowed from Greek kônos "pine cone, cone in geometry," probably of pre-Greek substratal origin
: a mass of overlapping woody scales that especially in the pines and other conifers are arranged on a structure like a stem and produce seeds between them
also: any of several flower or fruit clusters resembling such cones
2
a
: a solid figure formed by rotating a right triangle about one of its legs
called alsoright circular cone
b
: a solid figure that slopes evenly to a point from a usually circular base
3
: something shaped like a cone: as
a
: any of the cells of the retina that are sensitive to light and function in color vision
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