cube

¹ American  

[kyoob] / kjub /

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.

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verb (used with object)

cubes, present (3rd person singular) cubed, past participle, past cubing present participle

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 ² American  

[kyoo-bey] / ˈkju beɪ /

Also cubé

noun

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

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cube ¹ British  

/ 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

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cube ² British  

/ 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

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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 Scientific  

/ kyo̅o̅b /

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.

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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

Derived Forms

• cuber
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• cubing
  present
• cubed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cube
  simple
• cubes
  simple
• have cubed
  perfect
• has cubed
  perfect
• am cubing
  progressive
• are cubing
  progressive
• is cubing
  progressive
• have been cubing
  perfect progressive
• has been cubing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cubed
  simple
• had cubed
  perfect
• was cubing
  progressive
• were cubing
  progressive
• had been cubing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cube
  simple
• will have cubed
  perfect
• will be cubing
  progressive
• will have been cubing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cube¹

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

Origin of cube²

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

Explanation

In math, a cube is a number multiplied by itself three times. The cube of 2 is 8 (2 x 2 x 2). It is also a three-dimensional shape where each of the six sides is a square or something shaped like a cube, such as an ice cube or meat cut into cubes. The noun cube goes back to the Greek word kybos, which was a six-sided die used in games. As a verb, cube means to cut into cube shapes. You can buy cookie dough that is ready for baking and formed into cubes. Place each cube on the cookie sheet, and the dough becomes a dozen round cookies — or fewer if you pop a cookie dough cube into your mouth before baking!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cube cubes cubed cubing

About the size of a cookie, each array contains eight quartz corner cube prisms mounted inside a dome shaped aluminum frame.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Each item -- described online as a "sculpture" -- is sealed inside a tiny plastic cube to avoid leaking or smells.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Users stay “Bricked”—the company’s term for being cut off from digital temptation—until they tap the phone against the cube.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

A cube of feta tucked into a tomato salad.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

It’s a deleted email hidden behind his menagerie of shields, hovering in my view as a locked cube.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

You might think I’m an expert packer with all of this globe-trotting, but I struggle like the rest of us, even with packing cubes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The T2K neutrino-oscillation experiment in Japan, for example, uses a detector with about two tons of sensitive material made from approximately two million cubes and 60,000 fibers.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

I’ve happily sung the praises of jarred garlic and frozen ginger cubes.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

These are tiny, no-frills cubes stacked one atop another in a row.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

“Wonderful,” Papa said, taking in the bright orange cubes of sweet potato nestled among the fried green beans and onions.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

Renderings of the structure, which is situated in Symphony Park, show a cubed modernist building with a large awning that stretches over a bustling entry plaza to provide shade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025

I cubed the steak and browned it hard in my cherry red Dutch oven, watching it cast off its fat and leave behind a savory varnish on the enamel.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025

"One microgram per meter cubed might sound fairly small, but we have to think about how people are exposed to wildfire smoke," Casey said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024

In panel systems, relatively short pieces of straw are packed together at just the right density, about 110 kg per metre cubed, so that the volume of air inside creates an insulating effect.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024

I start filling my own plate with anything that will fit—salmon skewers, cubed potatoes, roasted corn, and garlic bread.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

If meat needs cubing, shredding or portioning, now is the moment.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2025

Though the achievements have been notable, Schwan Park said speed cubing has helped his son learn to socialize, make friends and expand his horizons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2023

“The deeper I go into the realm of cubing technique, the more I find interest in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible there,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

In Hoang’s world, cubing is a verb and a calming practice.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2019

The estimate of cost and the cubing was there.

From The Roll-Call by Bennett, Arnold