Definition of parabola
1 : a plane curve generated by a point moving so that its distance from a fixed point is equal to its distance from a fixed line : the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to an element of the cone
2 : something bowl-shaped (such as an antenna or microphone reflector)
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Recent Examples of parabola from the Web
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Engineers say the Inuit, through trial and error, devised a design based on a parabola, not a semicircle, eliminating the forces that would make a true hemisphere bulge and collapse.
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Engineers say the Inuit, through trial and error, devised a design based on a parabola, not a semicircle, eliminating the forces that would make a true hemisphere bulge and collapse.
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Engineers say the Inuit, through trial and error, devised a design based on a parabola, not a semicircle, eliminating the forces that would make a true hemisphere bulge and collapse.
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But their childhoods, rather than mirror images, trace a kind of parabola: two archetypes of the African immigrant narrative.
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Pitts plans to return to Russia, and work to get monitors in the cockpit so the pilots can get even more real time feedback on how smoothly the parabolas are going.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parabola.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of parabola
Origin and Etymology of parabola
New Latin, from Greek parabolē, literally, comparison
Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms
PARABOLA Defined for English Language Learners
parabola
playDefinition of parabola for English Language Learners
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: a curve that is shaped like the path of something that is thrown forward and high in the air and falls back to the ground
Learn More about parabola
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Spanish Central: Translation of parabola Nglish: Translation of parabola for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of parabola for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about parabola
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