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
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.
Agnoli, who worked as a carpenter prior to entering architecture, used long spans of wood to create massive trusses and spiraling nautilus shapesand formed brick into catenary arches.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
Sound Transit’s resident engineer denied most of a $3.8 million claim Walsh filed on Clackamas, Ore.-based Liberty’s behalf regarding 107 catenary poles, affected by utilities, boulders, timbers and concrete.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2023
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
If steel be placed in this manner, the catenary curve will be practically approximated, the steel will be fairly developed throughout its length of embedment, and the structure will be proof against cracking.
From Some Mooted Questions in Reinforced Concrete Design American Society of Civil Engineers, Transactions, Paper No. 1169, Volume LXX, Dec. 1910 by Godfrey, Edward
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.
