cube

1
[ kyoob ]
See synonyms for cube on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a solid bounded by six equal squares, the angle between any two adjacent faces being a right angle.

  2. an object, either solid or hollow, having this form or a form approximating it: a cube of cheese; plastic storage cubes.

  1. sugar cube.

  2. Mathematics. the third power of a quantity, expressed as a3 = a·a·a.

  3. Informal. cubic inch, especially as a measure of the displacement of an automotive engine: a new sports car with 350 cubes.

  4. Slang. one of a pair of dice; die.

  5. Slang. a person who is unaware of or unfamiliar with current ideas, opinions, trends, etc.; square.

verb (used with object),cubed, cub·ing.
  1. to make into a cube or cubes.

  2. to cut into cubes.

  1. Mathematics. to raise to the third power.

  2. to measure the cubic contents of.

  3. to tenderize (a thin cut or slice of meat) by scoring the fibers in a pattern of squares.

Origin of cube

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cubus, from Latin, from Greek kýbos “cube, die”

Other words from cube

  • cuber, noun

Other definitions for cube (2 of 2)

cube2
[ kyoo-bey ]

noun
  1. any of several tropical plants of the legume family that are used in making fish poisons and insecticides.

Origin of cube

2
First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin American Spanish cubé; further origin uncertain
  • Also cu·bé [kyoo-bey]. /kyuˈbeɪ/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cube in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cube (1 of 2)

cube1

/ (kjuːb) /


noun
  1. a solid having six plane square faces in which the angle between two adjacent sides is a right angle

  2. the product of three equal factors: the cube of 2 is 2 × 2 × 2 (usually written 2³)

  1. something in the form of a cube: a bath cube

verb
  1. to raise (a number or quantity) to the third power

  2. (tr) to measure the cubic contents of

  1. (tr) to make, shape, or cut (something, esp food) into cubes

  2. (tr) US and Canadian to tenderize (meat) by scoring into squares or by pounding with a device which has a surface of metal cubes

Origin of cube

1
C16: from Latin cubus die, cube, from Greek kubos

Derived forms of cube

  • cuber, noun

British Dictionary definitions for cube (2 of 2)

cube2

/ (ˈkjuːbeɪ) /


noun
  1. any of various tropical American plants, esp any of the leguminous genus Lonchocarpus, the roots of which yield rotenone

  2. an extract from the roots of these plants: a fish poison and insecticide

Origin of cube

2
American Spanish cubé, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cube

cube

[ kyōōb ]


Verb
  1. To multiply a number or a quantity by itself three times; raise to the third power. For example, five cubed is 5 X 5 X 5.

Noun
  1. The product that results when a number or quantity is cubed. For example, the cube of 5 is 125.

  2. A solid having six equal square faces or sides.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.