Thesaurus: parabola

Related headwords

Definitions

1. n. A kind of curve; one of the conic sections formed by the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane parallel to one of its sides. It is a curve, any point of which is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and a fixed straight line, called the directrix. See Focus.
2. n. One of a group of curves defined by the equation y = axn where n is a positive whole number or a positive fraction. For the cubical parabola n = 3; for the semicubical parabola n = /. See under Cubical, and Semicubical. The parabolas have infinite branches, but no rectilineal asymptotes.
3. n. a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve
4. (a) A kind of curve; one of the conic sections formed by the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane parallel to one of its sides. It is a curve, any point of which is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and a fixed straight line, called the directrix. See Focus. (b) One of a group of curves defined by the equation y = axn where n is a positive whole number or a positive fraction. For the cubical parabola n = 3; for the semicubical parabola n = Cubical, and Semicubical. The parabolas have infinite branches, but no rectilineal asymptotes.
5. n:100 n. a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve