ellipsoid

Its form is that of an ellipsoid, with a major axis 26 millimetres in length, while the minor axis measures 11 millimetres.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
Ellipsoid, a surface bearing the same sort of relation to a spherical surface as an ellipse bears to a circle.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
We shall so select the law of contraction that the point S may be at the focus of the meridian section of the ellipsoid.
The Foundations of Science: Science and Hypothesis, The Value of Science, Science and Method|Henri Poincar
If therefore a little hump were discovered on the terrestrial ellipsoid, this discovery would be by itself of no great interest.
The Foundations of Science: Science and Hypothesis, The Value of Science, Science and Method|Henri Poincar

The roof was the long half of an ellipsoid, and the opening in it was over one of the foci of the ellipse of the floor.
Lilith|George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for ellipsoid

ellipsoid

/ (ɪˈlɪpsɔɪd) /

noun

a geometric surface, symmetrical about the three coordinate axes, whose plane sections are ellipses or circles. Standard equation: x ²/ a ² + y ²/ b ² + z ²/ c ² = 1, where ± a, ± b, ± c are the intercepts on the x-, y-, and z- axes
a solid having this shapethe earth is an ellipsoid

Derived forms of ellipsoid

ellipsoidal (ɪlɪpˈsɔɪdəl, ˌɛl-), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for ellipsoid

ellipsoid

[ ĭ-lĭp′soid′ ]

A three-dimensional geometric figure resembling a flattened sphere. Any cross section of an ellipsoid is an ellipse or circle. An ellipsoid is generated by rotating an ellipse around one of its axes.