: 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
There were more than 50 yellow cones, marking evidence in the middle of Gateway Boulevard where the shooting occurred.—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 18 June 2025 More than 100 new menu items are available at Epic Universe, including popular Mac & Cheese cones in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and the Bièraubeurre (Butterbeer) Crepe in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.—Eve Chen, USA Today, 14 June 2025
Verb
Enter this classic dish that cones together in just two steps.—Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2024 From cow to cone The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course has a 132-year history.—Amanda Hobor, CNN, 2 July 2024 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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