cone

noun

• 1a solid or hollow object that tapers from a circular or roughly circular base to a point.
• Mathematics a surface or solid figure generated by the straight lines that pass from a circle or other closed curve to a single point (the vertex) not in the same plane as the curve. A cone with the vertex perpendicularly over the center of a circular base is a right circular cone.
• (also traffic cone) a plastic cone-shaped object that is used to separate off or close sections of a road.
• an edible wafer container shaped like a cone in which ice cream is served.
• a conical mountain or peak, especially one of volcanic origin.
• (also pyrometric cone) a ceramic pyramid that melts at a known temperature and is used to indicate the temperature of a kiln.
• short for cone shell.

• 2the dry fruit of a conifer, typically tapering to a rounded end and formed of a tight array of overlapping scales on a central axis that separate to release the seeds.
• a flower resembling a pine cone, especially that of the hop plant.

• 3 Anatomy a light-sensitive cell of one of the two types present in the retina of the eye, responding mainly to bright light and responsible for sharpness of vision and color perception. Compare with rod (sense 5).