tetrahedron

[ te-truh-hee-druhn ]

noun

, plural tet·ra·he·drons, tet·ra·he·dra [te-tr, uh, -, hee, -dr, uh].

1. Geometry. a solid contained by four plane faces; a triangular pyramid.
2. any of various objects resembling a tetrahedron in the distribution of its faces or apexes.

tetrahedron

/ ˌtɛtrəˈhiːdrən /

noun

1. a solid figure having four plane faces. A regular tetrahedron has faces that are equilateral triangles See also polyhedron
2. any object shaped like a tetrahedron

tetrahedron

/ tĕt′rə-hē′drən /

, Plural tetrahedrons

1. A polyhedron having four faces.

Derived Forms

• ˌtetraˈhedral, adjective
• ˌtetraˈhedrally, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetrahedron¹

1560–70; tetra- + -hedron, modeled on Late Greek tetráedron, noun use of neuter of tetráedros four-sided

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetrahedron¹

C16: from New Latin, from Late Greek tetraedron; see tetra- , -hedron

Example Sentences

He said G/O Media had agreed to sell to “a new Chicago-based firm called Global Tetrahedron.”

From New York Times

The name Global Tetrahedron is, in true Onion fashion, a winking reference to a sinister fictional company featured in the book “Our Dumb Century,” which was written by The Onion’s staff and published in 1999.

From New York Times

The real-life Global Tetrahedron is backed by Jeff Lawson, a co-founder and former chief executive of the technology communications company Twilio, according to three people familiar with the matter as well as corporate filings.

From New York Times

You now have two pieces that can be slotted together to form a tetrahedron.

From Literature

The tetrahedron was fire, the cube earth, the octahedron air, the icosahedron water and the dodecahedron the encompassing dome.

From Literature