Illustration of cone
- 1 Sitka spruce
- 2 Japanese cedar
- 3 giant sequoia
- 4 white spruce
- 5 redwood
- 6 lodgepole pine
- 7 Douglas fir
- 8 bald cypress
- 9 jack pine
1
a
: a solid generated by rotating a right triangle about one of its legs
called also right circular cone
b
: a solid bounded by a circular or other closed plane base and the surface formed by line segments joining every point of the boundary of the base to a common vertex see Volume Formulas Table
c
: a surface traced by a moving straight line passing through a fixed vertex
2
a
: a mass of ovule-bearing or pollen-bearing scales or bracts in most conifers or in cycads that are arranged usually on a somewhat elongated axis
b
: any of several flower or fruit clusters suggesting a cone
3
: something that resembles a cone in shape: such as
a
: any of the conical photosensitive receptor cells of the vertebrate retina that function in color vision compare rod sense 3
b
: any of a family (Conidae) of tropical marine gastropod mollusks that inject their prey with a potent toxin
c
: the apex of a volcano
d
: a crisp usually cone-shaped wafer for holding ice cream
coned; coning
1
: to make cone-shaped
2
: to bevel like the slanting surface of a cone
cone a tire
Examples of cone in a Sentence
Noun
He scooped out the popcorn with a paper cone.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2025
With the aim of promoting safety among youth, as many as 100,000 Minnesota children will receive a ‘citation’ for a free small DQ cone if spotted wearing a helmet while biking, scootering, skateboarding or in-line skating.
—Julia Fomby, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2024
From cow to cone The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course has a 132-year history.
—Amanda Hobor, CNN, 2 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cone 
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Noun
Chief among them is a high-speed jet blasting at a 90-degree angle from the center of the disk, which is surrounded by a wider outflow sculpted into a cone, according to the statement.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2025
With the aim of promoting safety among youth, as many as 100,000 Minnesota children will receive a ‘citation’ for a free small DQ cone if spotted wearing a helmet while biking, scootering, skateboarding or in-line skating.
—Julia Fomby, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
Verb
Enter this classic dish that cones together in just two steps.
—Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2024
From cow to cone The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course has a 132-year history.
—Amanda Hobor, CNN, 2 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cone
Dictionary Entries Near cone
Cite this Entry
“Cone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cone. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cone
noun1
: a solid having a circular base and sides that slope evenly to a point
2
3
: a cusp of a tooth especially in the upper jaw
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