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
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2025
But the surface of a double cone — a shape consisting of two cones connected at their tips — is not a manifold.
—Paulina Rowińska, Wired News, 28 Dec. 2025
As the cone eroded over time, olivine crystals became concentrated in this area.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 26 Dec. 2025
Roll the triangle into a cone shape and secure it with hot glue along the edge.
—Caylin Harris, Parents, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cone
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Noun
The spikey cones remain standing on sturdy, tall stems for months after the petals drop.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2025
But the surface of a double cone — a shape consisting of two cones connected at their tips — is not a manifold.
—Paulina Rowińska, Wired News, 28 Dec. 2025
As the cone eroded over time, olivine crystals became concentrated in this area.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 26 Dec. 2025
Roll the triangle into a cone shape and secure it with hot glue along the edge.
—Caylin Harris, Parents, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cone
Cite this Entry
“Cone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cone. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
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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