cubic

[ kyoo-bik ]

adjective

1. having three dimensions; solid.
2. having the form of a cube; cubical.
3. pertaining to the measurement of volume:

   the cubic contents of a vessel.

4. pertaining to a unit of linear measure that is multiplied by itself twice to form a unit of measure for volume:

   cubic foot; cubic centimeter; cubic inch; cubic meter.

5. Mathematics. of or relating to the third degree.
6. Crystallography. belonging or pertaining to the isometric system of crystallization.

noun

1. Mathematics. a cubic polynomial or equation.

cubic

/ ˈkjuːbɪk /

adjective

1. having the shape of a cube
2. 1. having three dimensions
   2. denoting or relating to a linear measure that is raised to the third power Abbreviationcu.c

      a cubic metre

3. maths of, relating to, or containing a variable to the third power or a term in which the sum of the exponents of the variables is three
4. Alsoisometricregular crystallog relating to or belonging to the crystal system characterized by three equal perpendicular axes. The unit cell of cubic crystals is a cube with a lattice point at each corner ( simple cubic ) and one in the cube's centre ( body-centred cubic ), or a lattice point at each corner and one at the centre of each face ( face-centred cubic )

noun

1. maths
   1. a cubic equation, such as x ³ + x + 2 = 0
   2. a cubic term or expression

cubic

/ kyo̅o̅′bĭk /

1. Referring to a volume unit of measurement.
2. Involving a number or a variable that has been raised to the third power.
3. Relating to a crystal having three axes of equal length intersecting at right angles. The mineral pyrite has cubic crystals.
4. Also called isometric
5. See illustration at crystal

Other Words From

• cu·bic·i·ty [kyoo-, bis, -i-tee], noun
• sub·cubic adjective
• un·cubic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cubic¹

1490–1500; earlier cubik < Latin cubicus < Greek kybikós. See cube ¹, -ic

Example Sentences

However, in the meantime, the US had stuck with the briefly-popular Queen Anne gallon—231 cubic inches of fluid.

From Popular-Science

The two swimmers are chosen based on FINA points, which are calculated using a cubic curve.

From Washington Blade

Within six days, all 600 million to 750 million cubic meters of lake water had vanished, leaving a deep sinkhole filled with fractured ice.

From Science News

Thanks to its very low density of fewer than 40 kilograms per cubic meter, the cockpit was ultra-lightweight.

From TechCrunch

Hilbert’s idea of using a line on a cubic surface to solve a ninth-degree polynomial can be extended to lines on these higher-dimensional hypersurfaces.

From Quanta Magazine

The concentration of PM2.5, the smallest particulate matter, is at 153 micrograms per cubic meter.

From The Daily Beast

Each year their fields need at least 53 billion cubic meters of water for irrigation.

From The Daily Beast

The conflict in Ukraine caused Gazprom to cut production volumes from 496.4 billion cubic meters to 463 billion cubic meters.

From The Daily Beast

The daughter had also been exposed and was comatose before she and her mother each received A 250 cubic centimeter transfusion.

From The Daily Beast

She grew increasingly ill despite a 450 cubic centimeter transfusion and became comatose after five days.

From The Daily Beast

The product is then multiplied by the number of cubic centimeters voided in twenty-four hours and divided by 1000.

From Project Gutenberg

Clodd tells us that one cubic inch of rotten stone contains 41 thousand million vegetable skeletons of diatoms.

From Project Gutenberg

The normal number of leukocytes varies from 5000 to 10,000 per cubic millimeter of blood.

From Project Gutenberg

An immense bag of linen lined with paper, and containing 23,000 cubic feet, was provided for the occasion.

From Project Gutenberg

Places on the Alaskan coast, laid bare at high tide, are said to have yielded as much as $12,000 per cubic yard.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cuboid
• cuboidal