cone

[ kohn ]

/ koʊn /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: cone / coned on Thesaurus.com

noun

Geometry.

a solid whose surface is generated by a line passing through a fixed point and a fixed plane curve not containing the point, consisting of two equal sections joined at a vertex.
a plane surface resembling the cross section of a solid cone.

anything shaped like a cone: sawdust piled up in a great cone; the cone of a volcano.

ice-cream cone.

Botany.

the more or less conical multiple fruit of the pine, fir, etc., consisting of overlapping or valvate scales bearing naked ovules or seeds; a strobile.
a similar fruit, as in cycads or club mosses.

Anatomy. one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to color and intensity of light.Compare rod (def. 17).

one of a series of cone-shaped markers placed along a road, as around an area of highway construction, especially to exclude or divert motor vehicles.

(in a taper thread screw or bevel gear) an imaginary cone or frustum of a cone concentric to the axis and defining the pitch surface or one of the extremities of the threads or teeth.

Ceramics. pyrometric cone.

verb (used with object), coned, con·ing.

to shape like a cone or a segment of a cone.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cone

1480–90; <Latin cōnus<Greek kônos pine-cone, cone-shaped figure; akin to hone¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cone in a sentence

This high-altitude pine needs to be 50-80 years old before it even begins to produce cones.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they also don't greow cones: Whitebark pines can wait 80 years or more to begin cone production.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Legend has it that Alexander the Great enjoyed ancient sno-cones as well; his were flavored with honey and nectar.
An Investigation Into the Delicious Origins of Ice Cream|Andrew Romano|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An hour later, we pay $17 at the admission gate, stop to buy Sno-Cones, and join the line about a quarter-mile from the ride.
The Stacks: The Inimitable Albert Brooks Caught at the Dawn of His Movie Career|Paul Slansky|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He may not have been working the cones, but it looked as though his underlings were.
Christie Aides Can Keep Bridgegate Emails Under Wraps|Olivia Nuzzi|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes in the case of large plants, cones have been known to occur on the tips of the branches of the Marsh Horsetail.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Since softwood trees bear cones, they are called coniferous trees.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
Over north there are mountains and mountains, one behind the other, till the last peaks are white cones against the blue sky.
The Hidden Places|Bertrand W. Sinclair
He looked out over the valley once more, at those high, sentinel peaks thrusting up their white cones, one behind the other.
The Hidden Places|Bertrand W. Sinclair
In the early vocabularies it is called "Pin-treow," and the cones are "Pin-nuttes."
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare|Henry Nicholson Ellacombe

British Dictionary definitions for cone

cone

/ (kəʊn) /

noun

a geometric solid consisting of a plane base bounded by a closed curve, often a circle or an ellipse, every point of which is joined to a fixed point, the vertex, lying outside the plane of the base. A right circular cone has a vertex perpendicularly above or below the centre of a circular base. Volume of a cone: 1/3 π r ² h, where r is the radius of the base and h is the height of the cone
a geometric surface formed by a line rotating about the vertex and connecting the peripheries of two closed plane bases, usually circular or elliptical, above and below the vertexSee also conic section

anything that tapers from a circular section to a point, such as a wafer shell used to contain ice cream

the reproductive body of conifers and related plants, made up of overlapping scales, esp the mature female cone, whose scales each bear a seed
a similar structure in horsetails, club mosses, etcTechnical name: strobilus

a small cone-shaped bollard used as a temporary traffic marker on roads

Also called: retinal cone any one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to colour and bright light

verb

(tr) to shape like a cone or part of a cone

Word Origin for cone

C16: from Latin cōnus, from Greek kōnus pine cone, geometrical cone

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 cone

cone

[ kōn ]

A three-dimensional surface or solid object in which the base is a circle and upper surface narrows to form a point. The surface of a cone is formed mathematically by moving a line that passes through a fixed point (the vertex) along a circle.

A rounded or elongated reproductive structure that consists of sporophylls or scales arranged spirally or in an overlapping fashion along a central stem, as in conifers and cycads. For example, the familiar woody pinecone is actually the female cone, made up of ovule-bearing scales. The smaller male cones of the pine consist of thin overlapping microsporophylls. These produce pollen that is carried by the wind to fertilize ovules in the female cones. When the seeds in the female cones mature, the cones of many pine species expand to release them. In some pine species, cones release seeds only in response to the presence of fire. See also strobilus.

One of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Cones are extremely sensitive to light and can distinguish among different wavelengths. Cones are responsible for vision during daylight and for the ability to see colors. Compare rod.

cone

Origin of cone

Words related to cone

How to use cone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cone

Word Origin for cone

Scientific definitions for cone