parabolic
1 Americanadjective
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having the form or outline of a parabola.
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having a longitudinal section in the form of a paraboloid or parabola.
a parabolic reflector.
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of or relating to a parabola.
adjective
adjective
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of, relating to, or shaped like a parabola
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shaped like a paraboloid
a parabolic mirror
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of parabolic1
First recorded in 1695–1705; parabol(a) + -ic
Origin of parabolic2
1650–60; < Late Latin parabolicus metaphoric < Late Greek parabolikós figurative, equivalent to Greek parabol ( ḗ ) parable + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Something that's parabolic symbolizes something or teaches a simple lesson. Many fables and Bible stories are parabolic. If your grandfather's stories always end with him saying, "And the moral of this story is..." then you can describe them as parabolic. They are parables, in other words, tales that try to teach a moral or religious lesson. Another way to use the adjective parabolic is to mean "like a parabola," or a mathematical curve on a graph. The Greek root of parabolic is parabolikos, "figurative," from parabole, "comparison or parable," or literally "a throwing beside."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Semiconductor and memory-related stocks have experienced parabolic advances since the March lows, with several momentum indicators reaching historically elevated levels,” said LPL Financial’s Buchbinder.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
But despite the parabolic rally, the stock is still surprisingly cheap, analysts are noting.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
"Demand has gone parabolic," chief executive Jensen Huang told analysts on a conference call.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
The riveting gains for microchip stocks have many analysts drawing parallels to 1999, just ahead of the dot-com crash, when the build-out of a key technology led to parabolic moves and frenzied speculation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
I wasn’t sure where we’d gone since the lessons in parabolic ratios the week before.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
