A parabola is a type of curve such as the path of something that is thrown up into the air and comes down in a different place.
[technical]
parabola in British English
(pəˈræbələ)
nounWord forms: plural-las or -lae (-ˌliː)
a conic section formed by the intersection of a cone by a plane parallel to its side. Standard equation: y2 = 4ax, where 2a is the distance between focus and directrix
Word origin
C16: via New Latin from Greek parabolē a setting alongside; see parable
parabola in American English
(pəˈræbələ)
noun
Geometry
a plane curve which is the path, or locus, of a moving point that remains equally distant from a fixed point (focus) and from a fixed straight line (directrix); curve formed by the section of a cone cut by a plane parallel to the side of the cone
Word origin
ModL < Gr parabolē, lit., application, comparison (see parable): it is produced by the “application” of a given area to a given straight line
Examples of 'parabola' in a sentence
parabola
He must have been thrown off by the heaving deck because the flare traced a shallow parabola just over the top of the launch's wheelhouse.