catenary
Americannoun
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Mathematics. the curve assumed approximately by a heavy uniform cord or chain hanging freely from two points not in the same vertical line. Equation: y = k cos h (x /k ).
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(in electric railroads) the cable, running above the track, from which the trolley wire is suspended.
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling a catenary.
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of or relating to a chain or linked series.
noun
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the curve assumed by a heavy uniform flexible cord hanging freely from two points. When symmetrical about the y- axis and intersecting it at y = a , the equation is y = a cosh x / a
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the hanging cable between pylons along a railway track, from which the trolley wire is suspended
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catenary
1780–90; < Latin catēnārius relating to a chain, equivalent to catēn ( a ) a chain + -ārius -ary
Vocabulary lists containing catenary
Structural Engineering
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Engineering - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Without the structural principles behind catenary curves, there would be no Gothic cathedrals or Renaissance domes — nor, for that matter, any lacy spiderwebs.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2025
“I see the stations, the empty parking spaces, the catenary wires that power the trains, and think surely we should put it to use,” Sound Transit board member Claudia Balducci, of Bellevue, said last week.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2022
Design changes in the past year helped address the incompatibility with the corridor’s track and its catenary system — the overhead wires that supply the train with electricity.
From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2022
“It hit the catenary wire that runs between the 3 towers,” Parsons wrote in a tweet from the EGS Twitter account.
From The Verge • Apr. 3, 2022
There were tall buildings, but their walls were draping, catenary curves.
From Long Ago, Far Away by Leinster, Murray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
