paraboloid

[puh-rab-uh-loid]

noun

Geometry.

1. a surface that can be put into a position such that its sections parallel to at least one coordinate plane are parabolas.

paraboloid

/ pəˈræbəˌlɔɪd /

noun

1. a geometric surface whose sections parallel to two coordinate planes are parabolic and whose sections parallel to the third plane are either elliptical or hyperbolic. Equations x ²/ a ² ± y ²/ b ² = 2 cz

paraboloid

1. A surface having parabolic sections parallel to a single coordinate axis and elliptic sections perpendicular to that axis.

Other Word Forms

• paraboloidal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of paraboloid¹

First recorded in 1650–60; parabol(a) + -oid

Example Sentences

He topped the whole thing off with a swooping, saddle-shaped roof — a hyperbolic paraboloid in design-speak — that gave it a distinct presence.

From New York Times

Nearby, 16 stark-white paraboloid beams supported the Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília like a crown of thorns.

From Wall Street Journal

Moscow’s 1929 constructivist planetarium combined a proletarian ethos with revolutionary engineering: a paraboloid dome in reinforced concrete.

From Nature

It includes the hyperbolic paraboloid, or off-center pyramid, above.

From New York Times

The 32-story building may resemble an off-center pyramid, but the architects prefer to describe it as a hyperbolic paraboloid.

From New York Times