cube
gb/kjˈub/ us/kjˈub/
A2
English
~ 7900
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
solid with six equal square faces
A 3D shape like a box where all sides are squares and all edges are the same length.
Usage pattern:
a/the cube; a cube with [edge length]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'square' and 'cube'. A square is flat (2D), while a cube is solid (3D). For example, 'a cube has six squares' should be 'a cube has six square faces'.
Synonyms
block (A general word for a solid piece; not all blocks are perfect cubes.)
Antonyms
sphere (A curved 3D shape with no flat faces, contrasting with the flat faces of a cube.)
Collocations
perfect cube
|solid cube
|wooden cube
|three-dimensional cube
|draw a cube
|cube shape
Themes
math
|geometry
|science
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The children built a tower from colorful plastic cubes.
- In geometry class, we learned how to calculate the volume of a cube.
- The logo is a simple blue cube floating in space.
- Light reflected off the glass cube and made a rainbow on the wall.
- Each cube in the puzzle fits together to form a larger shape.
Learner examples
- He drew a cube on the board.
- The box is shaped like a cube.
- A cube has six square faces.
- This small cube fits in my hand.
- The toy set has ten wooden cubes.
Noun
A2
entity
2
small cube-shaped piece, often food
A small piece of something, like food or ice, that has the shape of a cube.
Usage pattern:
a cube of [food/substance]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say 'square of sugar' instead of 'sugar cube'. Use 'cube' for small 3D pieces of food or ice, and 'square' mainly for 2D shapes on paper or screens.
Synonyms
block (Similar idea, but 'block' does not always suggest a strict cube shape and can be larger.)
Antonyms
slice (A thin, flat piece of food, in contrast to a thick cube-shaped piece.)
Collocations
ice cube
|sugar cube
|cheese cube
|bread cube
|cut into cubes
|a cube of butter
Themes
cooking
|food
|daily_life
|food_drink
Examples
- She dropped a few ice cubes into the glass.
- Add one cube of butter to the hot pan.
- The salad was topped with small cubes of feta cheese.
- He put two sugar cubes in his coffee.
- Cut the meat into cubes before cooking the stew.
Learner examples
- Please put some ice cubes in my drink.
- He ate a cube of cheese.
- The soup has soft potato cubes in it.
- She likes two sugar cubes in her tea.
- Cut the bread into small cubes.
Noun
technical
B2
quantity
3
number multiplied by itself twice
In math, a number you get when you multiply a number by itself two more times, for example 3 × 3 × 3 = 27, so 27 is the cube of 3.
Usage pattern:
the cube of [number]; [number] is the cube of [number]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'square' and 'cube' in math. 'Square' means multiply a number by itself once (3 × 3), while 'cube' means multiply by itself two more times (3 × 3 × 3).
Synonyms
third power (A more explicit mathematical term; slightly more formal but equal in meaning.)
Antonyms
cube root (The operation that reverses taking a cube, so it functions as an opposite operation.)
Collocations
the cube of 2
|perfect cube
|cube of a number
|find the cube
|cube and cube root
Themes
math
|education
|science
Examples
- Eight is the cube of two.
- The volume of a cube with side length x is the cube of x.
- Students were asked to write the cube of each number from one to ten.
- A perfect cube is a number that can be written as n times n times n.
- She quickly calculated the cube of five in her head.
Learner examples
- The cube of 3 is 27.
- We learned how to find the cube of a number.
- He wrote the cubes of 1 to 5 in his notebook.
- The cube of 10 is 1000.
- Is 64 the cube of 4?
Verb
B2
action
4
cut food into cubes
To cut food or another soft thing into small pieces that look like tiny cubes.
Usage pattern:
to cube [food/ingredient]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'cut' when a recipe specifically needs 'cube' or 'dice'. 'Cut' is general; 'cube' means the pieces should be roughly cube-shaped. In cooking, 'dice' is often more common than 'cube'.
Synonyms
dice (The most common cooking term; usually implies small, even cubes and is slightly more precise than 'cube'.)
Antonyms
slice (Means to cut into flat, thin pieces rather than cube-shaped pieces.)
Collocations
cube the potatoes
|cube the meat
|finely cubed vegetables
|peeled and cubed
|cube the cheese
Themes
cooking
|food
|daily_life
|food_drink
Examples
- Cube the potatoes before boiling them.
- The recipe says to cube the chicken and fry it in oil.
- She cubed the cheese and arranged it on a plate with crackers.
- Once the bread is cubed, we can make croutons.
- Cube the tofu so it cooks evenly in the pan.
Learner examples
- Please cube the carrots for the soup.
- He cubed the meat and put it in the pot.
- First, wash the apples, then cube them.
- She cubed the bread to make stuffing.
- The cook quickly cubed the cheese.
Verb
technical
C1
action
5
raise a number to the third power
In math, to multiply a number by itself two more times, for example to cube 3 is to do 3 × 3 × 3.
Usage pattern:
to cube [number/value]
Common mistake:
Learners may think 'cube' means to multiply a number by three. It actually means to multiply the number by itself twice (n × n × n), not to do n × 3.
Synonyms
raise to the third power (A more formal mathematical phrase; describes the same operation in full.)
Antonyms
take the cube root of (Describes the inverse mathematical operation, undoing the effect of cubing.)
Collocations
cube the number
|cube each value
|squared and then cubed
|cube both sides
|cube this expression
Themes
math
|education
|science
Examples
- If you cube 4, you get 64.
- First square the variable, then cube the result.
- When you cube a negative number, the answer is still negative.
- To find the volume, we cube the side length.
- The teacher showed us how to cube large numbers using a calculator.
Learner examples
- We learned how to cube numbers in class.
- Cube 5 to get 125.
- Please cube each number on the list.
- He forgot to cube the value in the formula.
- They asked us to cube ten and write the answer.
Noun
informal
B2
entity
6
small office cubicle workspace
A small work area in an office, with short walls around a desk, inside a big open room.
Usage pattern:
in my/your/their cube; sit in a cube
Common mistake:
Learners may not recognize 'cube' as meaning 'cubicle' because it is informal. In formal writing, use 'cubicle'. 'Cube' in this sense is mostly used in American office speech.
Synonyms
cubicle (The standard term; 'cube' is casual office slang for the same thing.)
Antonyms
private office (A separate room for one person, the opposite of an open cubicle space.)
Collocations
sit in a cube
|office cube
|back to my cube
|cube farm
|decorate my cube
Themes
work
|business
|daily_life
Examples
- I'll be in my cube if you need me.
- He spends most of his day in a gray office cube.
- They added plants and photos to brighten up their cubes.
- After the promotion, she moved from a cube to a corner office.
- He peeked over the wall into the next cube.
Learner examples
- I work in a small cube at an IT company.
- Her cube is near the window.
- He put family photos on the walls of his cube.
- Many workers sit in cubes in this office.
- She left her cube to get some coffee.
Noun
B1
entity
7
cube-shaped twistable puzzle toy
A small toy in the shape of a cube that you twist to move colored squares and try to make each face one color.
Usage pattern:
solve a cube; twist the cube
Common mistake:
Learners may think 'cube' always means a math shape, but in toy and hobby contexts, 'cube' often refers specifically to the twistable puzzle toy.
Synonyms
puzzle cube (A descriptive term; often used when the brand name is not mentioned.)
Collocations
solve the cube
|twist the cube
|speed cube
|3x3 cube
|puzzle cube
Themes
games
|toys
|leisure
|arts_entertainment
|daily_life
Examples
- He can solve a cube in under ten seconds.
- She kept a cube on her desk to play with during breaks.
- The video shows different methods to solve the classic 3x3 cube.
- He learned a new algorithm to turn the cube faster.
- They gave out small cubes as gifts at the event.
Learner examples
- My brother loves to play with his cube.
- She learned how to solve the cube from a video.
- He turned the cube again and again.
- There is a cube on the table next to the books.
- I got a new cube for my birthday.
Noun
technical
C1
entity
8
multidimensional data structure in computing
In computing, a special way to store numbers so that you can quickly look at them by different categories, like time, place, or product.
Usage pattern:
build a cube; query the cube; OLAP cube
Common mistake:
Learners may wrongly assume this is about the geometric shape. In computing, 'cube' in terms like 'data cube' or 'OLAP cube' means a special data structure, not a simple 3D box.
Synonyms
data cube (The more specific technical term; 'cube' is often used as a short form in context.)
Collocations
OLAP cube
|data cube
|build a cube
|browse the cube
|cube structure
Themes
technology
|business
|data
|science
Examples
- Analysts can slice the cube to view sales by region and month.
- The team built an OLAP cube to speed up reporting.
- Once the cube is processed, users can run complex queries in seconds.
- We store historical data in a separate cube.
- The new tool lets you explore the cube through a web interface.
Learner examples
- The company built a data cube for sales reports.
- You can slice the cube to see data by country.
- This cube holds many years of business data.
- They query the cube every morning to check numbers.
- The programmer is fixing a problem in the cube.
Grammar
Dictionary form
cube
IPA
GB/kjˈub/
US/kjˈub/
Syllables & stress
cube (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (cube)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: cube
- Plural: cubes
Verb
- Base: cube
- 3rd Person Singular: cubes
- Present Participle: cubing
- Past: cubed
Word family
Forms
cubes
noun
cubing
verb
cubed
verb
Core family
cubic
adjective
Related words
cubical
adjective
cuboid
noun
Advanced or less common
cubism
noun C1
cubist
noun
Expressions
cube farm
1/kjˈub fˈɑɹm/
idiom
informal
office filled with many cubicles
A big office room with many small work spaces (cubicles) close together.
Examples
- He jokes that he works in a giant cube farm.
- After years in the cube farm, she wanted a job that was mostly outdoors.
- The new building is just another cube farm full of computer screens.
cube root
1/kjˈub ɹˈut/
fixed phrase
technical
number whose cube is another number
In math, a number that you multiply by itself two more times to get another number, for example 3 is the cube root of 27.
Examples
- We learned how to find the cube root of 64.
- The cube root of eight is two.
- Use the calculator to get the cube root of this large number.
cube steak
1/kjˈub stˈeɪk/
fixed phrase
tenderized beef cut with cube marks
A thin piece of beef that has been beaten or run through a machine so it is softer and has many small square marks on it.
Examples
- She fried the cube steak and served it with mashed potatoes.
- The diner’s special today is chicken-fried cube steak.
- We bought some cube steak to make a quick dinner.
ice cube
1/ˈaɪs kjˈub/
fixed phrase
small cube of frozen water
A small piece of ice in the shape of a cube that you put in a drink to make it cold.
Examples
- Could you add a few ice cubes to my soda?
- She dropped an ice cube on the floor and it slid under the table.
- The tray makes twelve ice cubes at a time.
Rubik's Cube
1/ɹˈubɪks kjˈub/
fixed phrase
famous colored cube puzzle toy
A well-known puzzle toy in the shape of a cube, with small colored squares that you twist so that each side shows only one color.
Examples
- He spent the whole afternoon trying to solve his Rubik's Cube.
- The Rubik's Cube became popular all over the world in the 1980s.
- There are competitions to see who can solve a Rubik's Cube the fastest.
sugar cube
1/ʃˈʊɡɚ kjˈub/
fixed phrase
small cube of sugar
A small hard piece of sugar in the shape of a cube that you put in drinks like tea or coffee.
Examples
- He put two sugar cubes in his coffee.
- The horse ate the sugar cube from her hand.
- She bought a box of sugar cubes for the office kitchen.