cube

¹

Also cu·bé

[kyoo-bey]

noun

1. any of several tropical plants of the legume family that are used in making fish poisons and insecticides.

cube

²

[kyoob]

noun

1. a solid bounded by six equal squares, the angle between any two adjacent faces being a right angle.

2. an object, either solid or hollow, having this form or a form approximating it.

   a cube of cheese; plastic storage cubes.

3. sugar cube.

4. flashcube.

5. Mathematics.,  the third power of a quantity, expressed as a 3 = aaa.

6. Informal.,  cubic inch, especially as a measure of the displacement of an automotive engine.

   a new sports car with 350 cubes.

7. Slang.,  one of a pair of dice; die.

8. Slang.,  a person who is unaware of or unfamiliar with current ideas, opinions, trends, etc.; square.

verb (used with object)

cubed, cubing 

1. to make into a cube or cubes.

2. to cut into cubes.

3. Mathematics.,  to raise to the third power.

4. to measure the cubic contents of.

5. to tenderize (a thin cut or slice of meat) by scoring the fibers in a pattern of squares.

cube

¹

/ ˈkjuːbeɪ /

noun

1. any of various tropical American plants, esp any of the leguminous genus Lonchocarpus, the roots of which yield rotenone

2. an extract from the roots of these plants: a fish poison and insecticide

cube

²

/ kjuːb /

noun

1. a solid having six plane square faces in which the angle between two adjacent sides is a right angle

2. the product of three equal factors: the cube of 2 is 2 × 2 × 2 (usually written 2³)

3. something in the form of a cube

   a bath cube

verb

1. to raise (a number or quantity) to the third power

2. (tr) to measure the cubic contents of

3. (tr) to make, shape, or cut (something, esp food) into cubes

4. (tr) to tenderize (meat) by scoring into squares or by pounding with a device which has a surface of metal cubes

cube

1. To multiply a number or a quantity by itself three times; raise to the third power. For example, five cubed is 5 × 5 × 5.

1. The product that results when a number or quantity is cubed. For example, the cube of 5 is 125.

2. A solid having six equal square faces or sides.

Other Word Forms

• cuber noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cube¹

First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin American Spanish cubé; further origin uncertain

Origin of cube²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cubus, from Latin, from Greek kýbos “cube, die”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cube¹

American Spanish cubé, of unknown origin

Origin of cube²

C16: from Latin cubus die, cube, from Greek kubos

Example Sentences

The highlight was an al pastor mac and cheese where I slathered the cubes of pork in the finest theme park cheese slop.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A helpful way to picture them is to imagine manipulating a Rubik's cube in several dimensions at once by rotating, slicing, or rearranging its layers.

Read more on Science Daily

In a video announcement, it described the device as "a powerful gaming PC in a small but mighty package" - with a decent amount of power inside a 6-inch cube.

Read more on BBC

For a more autumnal spin, I tuck in about ½ cup of cubed, softened butternut squash, a sprinkle of brown sugar, cubes of manchego, and a few torn sage leaves.

Read more on Salon

Lacking panko in my pantry, I sliced some stale Italian bread into cubes and tossed them into a food processor.

Read more on Salon