noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A conic section formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane that intersects the base of the cone and is not tangent to the cone. The function y(x) = 1/x draws a hyperbola.
2. 2
   an open curve formed by a plane that cuts the base of a right circular cone wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

arcbowcatacausticcatenarycausticcircle

Example

More examples

"This hyperbola is important to us. It's the relativistic analogue of a circle."

Etymology

From New Latin hyperbola, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ). Doublet of hyperbole.

Related phrases

equilateral hyperbolarectangular hyperbolaconic sectionunit hyperbola

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.