polyhedron

[ pol-ee-hee-druhn ]

noun

, plural pol·y·he·drons, pol·y·he·dra [pol-ee-, hee, -dr, uh].

1. a solid figure having many faces.

polyhedron

/ ˌpɒlɪˈhiːdrən /

noun

1. a solid figure consisting of four or more plane faces (all polygons), pairs of which meet along an edge, three or more edges meeting at a vertex. In a regular polyhedron all the faces are identical regular polygons making equal angles with each other. Specific polyhedrons are named according to the number of faces, such as tetrahedron, icosahedron, etc

polyhedron

/ pŏl′ē-hē′drən /

, Plural polyhedrons

1. A three-dimensional geometric figure whose sides are polygons. A tetrahedron, for example, is a polyhedron having four triangular sides.
2. ◆ A regular polyhedron is a polyhedron whose faces are all congruent regular polygons. The regular tetrahedron (pyramid), hexahedron (cube), octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron are the five regular polyhedrons. Regular polyhedrons are a type of Archimedean solid.

Derived Forms

• ˌpolyˈhedral, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyhedron¹

1560–70; < Greek polýedron, neuter of polýedros having many bases. See poly-, -hedron

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyhedron¹

C16: from Greek poluedron, from poly- + hedron side, base

Example Sentences

If we make a polyhedron out of clay, mark the edges with a Sharpie, and roll it into a ball, the faces and edges become curved but their number doesn’t change.

From Quanta Magazine

Synacral, sin-ak′ral, adj. having a common vertex, as faces of a polyhedron.

From Project Gutenberg

Crime, he admitted, is a very complex phenomenon; it is a sort of polyhedron, of which every one sees a special side.

From Project Gutenberg

"Polyhedron" is from the Greek polys (many) and hedra (seat).

From Project Gutenberg

The points thus obtained are evidently the vertices of a polyhedron with plane faces.

From Project Gutenberg

In the first place, each of these figures may be conceived as an orthogonal projection of a closed plane-faced polyhedron.

From Project Gutenberg