tetrahedron

[ te-truh-hee-druhn ]

noun,plural tet·ra·he·drons, tet·ra·he·dra [te-truh-hee-druh]. /ˌtɛ trəˈhi drə/.
  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.

Origin of tetrahedron

1
1560–70; tetra- + -hedron, modeled on Late Greek tetráedron, noun use of neuter of tetráedros four-sided

Words Nearby tetrahedron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tetrahedron in a sentence

  • Kailas turns a sharp edge to the north, and from here the peak resembles a tetrahedron more than ever.

  • The most simple of all would have been the tetrahedron, or pyramid built upon a triangular base.

  • At the vertices of a regular tetrahedron may be found such points.

    The Mystery of Space | Robert T. Browne
  • Above the tetrahedron is a balloon-shaped figure, apparently drawn into shape by the attraction of the tetrahedron.

    Occult Chemistry | Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
  • This puzzle concerns the painting of the four sides of a tetrahedron, or triangular pyramid.

    Amusements in Mathematics | Henry Ernest Dudeney

British Dictionary definitions for tetrahedron

tetrahedron

/ (ˌtɛtrəˈhiːdrən) /


nounplural -drons or -dra (-drə)
  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

Origin of tetrahedron

1
C16: from New Latin, from Late Greek tetraedron; see tetra-, -hedron

Derived forms of tetrahedron

  • tetrahedral, adjective
  • tetrahedrally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for tetrahedron

tetrahedron

[ tĕt′rə-hēdrən ]


Plural tetrahedrons tetrahedra
  1. A polyhedron having four faces.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.