parabola

American  

[puh-rab-uh-luh] / pəˈræb ə lə /

noun

Geometry.

1. a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to a generator of the cone; the set of points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point in the same plane or in a parallel plane. Equation: y 2 = 2 px or x 2 = 2 py.

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parabola British  

/ pəˈræbələ /

noun

1. a conic section formed by the intersection of a cone by a plane parallel to its side. Standard equation: y ² = 4 ax , where 2 a is the distance between focus and directrix

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parabola Scientific  

/ pə-răb′ə-lə /

1. The curve formed by the set of points in a plane that are all equally distant from both a given line (called the directrix) and a given point (called the focus) that is not on the line.

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parabola Cultural  

1. A geometrical shape (see geometry) consisting of a single bend and two lines going off to an infinite distance.

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Discover More

An object that is propelled away from the Earth and then drawn back by gravity, such as a fly ball in baseball, follows a path shaped like a parabola.

Etymology

Origin of parabola

1570–80; < New Latin < Greek parabolḗ an application. See parable

Example Sentences

This was not the barefoot frolic I knew from picnics, not the game of lazy parabolas.

From The Wall Street Journal

The stone, with the rope trailing it, made a small parabola in the air, and the line, as if with a sigh, fell limply into the river only ninety tails away.

From Literature

They interlock, forming a three-dimensional-looking beam comprised of geometric patterns — a rotated hyperbolic parabola .

From Los Angeles Times

Among his discoveries was a need to move his takeoff point farther back for higher jumps, so he could change the apex of the parabola shape of his jump to clear the bar.

From Seattle Times

Seen from the ground, their ephemeral parabolas look like calligraphic brushstrokes.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• arc
• arch
• contour
• loop
• trajectory