conic section

noun Geometry.

a curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone; an ellipse, a circle, a parabola, or a hyperbola.

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. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for conic section

conic section

noun

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

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 in Science

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.