ellipse

Meanings

Plural: ellipses

Noun

• a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
  • "the sums of the distances from the foci to any point on an ellipse is constant"
• A closed curve, the locus of a point such that the sum of the distances from that point to two other fixed points (called the foci of the ellipse) is constant; equivalently, the conic section that is the intersection of a cone with a plane that does not intersect the base of the cone.
• Ellipsis, the removal from a phrase of a word which is grammatically needed, but which is clearly understood without having to be stated.

Verb

• To remove from a phrase a word which is grammatically needed, but which is clearly understood without having to be stated.

Synonyms

oval

Related Words

circle, conic section, ellipsis, ellipsoid, elliptic, elliptical, hyperbola, parabola