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spheroid

[sfeer-oid]Geometry
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noun
  1. a solid geometrical figure similar in shape to a sphere, as an ellipsoid.
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adjective
  1. spheroidal.
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Origin of spheroid

1655–65; < Latin sphaeroīdēs < Greek sphairoeidḗs. See sphere, -oid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spheroid

Historical Examples

  • Indignantly he had taken his calculations, his blue prints of the spheroid, along with him.

    Slaves of Mercury

    Nat Schachner

  • Its shape is not absolutely spherical, but spheroid—that is, flattened at the poles.

    Astronomy for Amateurs

    Camille Flammarion

  • The spheroid went to the side, sailing low, and out of bounds.

    A Quarter-Back's Pluck

    Lester Chadwick

  • There was a futile attempt to block the kick, but the spheroid sailed over the bar.

    A Quarter-Back's Pluck

    Lester Chadwick

  • The earth is a spheroid, and hence it pulls and is pulled by the moon with a slightly uncentric attraction.

British Dictionary definitions for spheroid

spheroid

noun
  1. maths another name for ellipsoid of revolution
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adjective
  1. shaped like but not exactly a sphere
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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

Word Origin and History for spheroid

n.

1660s, from Latin sphaeroides, from Greek sphairoeides, from sphaira (see sphere) + -oeides "form" (see -oid).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
spheroid in Medicine

spheroid

(sfîr′oid′, sfĕr′-)
adj.
  1. Having a generally spherical shape.
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Related formsspher′oid′ n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
spheroid in Science

spheroid

[sfîr′oid′]
  1. A three-dimensional geometric surface generated by rotating an ellipse on or about one of its axes.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.