The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cubic \Cu"bic\ (k?"b?k), Cubical \Cu"bic*al\ (-b?-kal), a. [L. cubicus, Gr. ?????: cf. F. cubique. See Cube.]
Having the form or properties of a cube; contained, or capable of being contained, in a cube.
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(Crystallog.) Isometric or monometric; as, cubic cleavage. See Crystallization.
Cubic equation, an equation in which the highest power of the unknown quantity is a cube.
Cubic foot, a volume equivalent to a cubical solid which measures a foot in each of its dimensions.
Cubic number, a number produced by multiplying a number into itself, and that product again by the same number. See Cube.
Cubical parabola (Geom.), two curves of the third degree, one plane, and one on space of three dimensions.
Wiktionary
n. (context mathematics English) A polynomial equation whose greatest exponent is 3.
Usage examples of "cubic equation".
The first and third were shown to be impossible by about 1640, when Descartes realized that their solutions implied the solution of a cubic equation, which cannot be done using ruler and compasses only.