cone

[ kohn ]

noun

1. Geometry.
   1. a solid whose surface is generated by a line passing through a fixed point and a fixed plane curve not containing the point, consisting of two equal sections joined at a vertex.
   2. a plane surface resembling the cross section of a solid cone.
2. anything shaped like a cone:

   sawdust piled up in a great cone; the cone of a volcano.

3. ice-cream cone.
4. Botany.
   1. the more or less conical multiple fruit of the pine, fir, etc., consisting of overlapping or valvate scales bearing naked ovules or seeds; a strobile.
   2. a similar fruit, as in cycads or club mosses.
5. Anatomy. one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to color and intensity of light. Compare rod ( def 17 ).
6. one of a series of cone-shaped markers placed along a road, as around an area of highway construction, especially to exclude or divert motor vehicles.
7. (in a taper thread screw or bevel gear) an imaginary cone or frustum of a cone concentric to the axis and defining the pitch surface or one of the extremities of the threads or teeth.
8. Ceramics. pyrometric cone.

verb (used with object)

, coned, con·ing.

1. to shape like a cone or a segment of a cone.

cone

/ kəʊn /

noun

1. 1. a geometric solid consisting of a plane base bounded by a closed curve, often a circle or an ellipse, every point of which is joined to a fixed point, the vertex, lying outside the plane of the base. A right circular cone has a vertex perpendicularly above or below the centre of a circular base. Volume of a cone: 1 3 π r ² h, where r is the radius of the base and h is the height of the cone
   2. a geometric surface formed by a line rotating about the vertex and connecting the peripheries of two closed plane bases, usually circular or elliptical, above and below the vertex See also conic section
2. anything that tapers from a circular section to a point, such as a wafer shell used to contain ice cream
3. 1. the reproductive body of conifers and related plants, made up of overlapping scales, esp the mature female cone , whose scales each bear a seed
   2. a similar structure in horsetails, club mosses, etc Technical namestrobilus
4. a small cone-shaped bollard used as a temporary traffic marker on roads
5. Also calledretinal cone any one of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to colour and bright light

verb

1. tr to shape like a cone or part of a cone

cone

/ kōn /

1. A three-dimensional surface or solid object in which the base is a circle and upper surface narrows to form a point. The surface of a cone is formed mathematically by moving a line that passes through a fixed point (the vertex) along a circle.
2. A rounded or elongated reproductive structure that consists of sporophylls or scales arranged spirally or in an overlapping fashion along a central stem, as in conifers and cycads. For example, the familiar woody pinecone is actually the female cone, made up of ovule-bearing scales. The smaller male cones of the pine consist of thin overlapping microsporophylls. These produce pollen that is carried by the wind to fertilize ovules in the female cones. When the seeds in the female cones mature, the cones of many pine species expand to release them. In some pine species, cones release seeds only in response to the presence of fire.
3. See also strobilus
4. One of the cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Cones are extremely sensitive to light and can distinguish among different wavelengths. Cones are responsible for vision during daylight and for the ability to see colors.
5. Compare rod

Word History and Origins

Origin of cone¹

1480–90; < Latin cōnus < Greek kônos pine-cone, cone-shaped figure; akin to hone ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cone¹

C16: from Latin cōnus, from Greek kōnus pine cone, geometrical cone

Example Sentences

According to their research, the Aleppo pine's highly flammable leaves and cones have increased the risks of fire.

From Salon

Color occurs because our eyes are equipped with rods and cones — specialized light-absorbing cells in the retina at the back of the eye.

From Salon

The California Department of Transportation was assisting with the road closure, using trucks, cones and flare patterns to help safely direct vehicles as night fell, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Winds blowing from different directions cause the air to rotate, after which a visible cone or funnel drops out of the cloud towards the ground.

From BBC

It felt like a miniature and flimsy speaker cone jammed into my ear.

From Salon