conic section
- a curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone; an ellipse, a circle, a parabola, or a hyperbola.
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Origin of conic section
First recorded in 1655–65
Also called conic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
conic section
- one of a group of curves formed by the intersection of a plane and a right circular cone. It is either a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola, depending on the eccentricity, e, which is constant for a particular curve e = 0 for a circle; e <1 for an ellipse; e = 1 for a parabola; e>1 for a hyperbolaOften shortened to: conic
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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
conic section
- A curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a cone. Conic sections can appear as circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, or parabolas, depending on the angle of the intersecting plane relative to the cone's base.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.