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
Noun Inflected 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.
Its form is that of the catenary curve, the most perfect shape for an arch, and the only one that requires no buttressing from the side.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
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
Liberty filed a $3 million claim last fall based on inefficiency installing catenary poles.
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
I presume that you saw that it was a catenary curve?”
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930 by Bates, Harry
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.
