: 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
Miller and Holmes met while filming season 2 of Too Hot to Handle, a reality show hosted by a virtual AI named Lana in the form of a cone.—Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025 As the cone eroded over time, olivine crystals became concentrated in this area.—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025 Fold a square of the material to create a cone and secure with adhesive.—Emily Williams, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Oct. 2025 Altan Badmaev was bedecked in a Y2K princess look, complete with legwarmers and a jeweled cone hat.—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 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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