PROLATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does prolate mean? 

• PROLATE (adjective)
  The adjective PROLATE has 2 senses:

1. having the polar diameter greater than the equatorial diameter

2. rounded like an egg

  Familiarity information: PROLATE used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROLATE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having the polar diameter greater than the equatorial diameter

Synonyms:

prolate; watermelon-shaped

Context example:

a prolate spheroid is generated by revolving an ellipse about its major axis

Similar:

cucumber-shaped (shaped like a cucumber)

Also:

rounded (curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged)

Antonym:

oblate (having the equatorial diameter greater than the polar diameter; being flattened at the poles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rounded like an egg

Synonyms:

egg-shaped; elliptic; elliptical; oval; oval-shaped; ovate; oviform; ovoid; prolate

Similar:

rounded (curving and somewhat round in shape rather than jagged)

 Context examples 

Based on these new occultation observations, team members say MU69 may not be not a lone spherical object, but suspect it could be an extreme prolate spheroid – think of a skinny football – or even a binary pair.

(New Horizons' Next Target Just Got a Lot More Interesting, NASA)