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• delta
  delta

  noun

  the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ, δ).
• Delta
  Delta

  noun

  the NATO name for a class of nuclear-powered submarines armed with multiple-warhead ballistic missiles, including those designed to strike military and industrial installations: first produced for the Soviet Navy in the 1970s; in service with the Russian Navy since 1992.

delta

¹ American  

[del-tuh] / ˈdɛl tə /

noun

• deltas
  plural

1. the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ, δ).

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

3. the fourth in a series of items.

4. anything triangular, like the Greek capital delta (Δ).

5. Mathematics. an incremental change in a variable, as Δ or δ.

6. a nearly flat plain of alluvial deposit between diverging branches of the mouth of a river, often, though not necessarily, triangular.

   the Nile delta.

7. Also Delta a word used in communications to represent the letter D.

8. Astronomy. Delta, a star that is usually the fourth brightest of a constellation.

   The fourth brightest star in the Southern Cross is Delta Crucis.

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Delta ² American  

[del-tuh] / ˈdɛl tə /

noun

Military.

1. the NATO name for a class of nuclear-powered submarines armed with multiple-warhead ballistic missiles, including those designed to strike military and industrial installations: first produced for the Soviet Navy in the 1970s; in service with the Russian Navy since 1992.

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Delta ¹ British  

/ ˈdɛltə /

noun

1. a state of Nigeria, on the Niger river delta on the Gulf of Guinea. Capital: Asaba. Pop: 4 098 391 (2006). Area: 17 698 sq km (6833 sq miles)

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Delta ² British  

/ ˈdɛltə /

noun

1. (foll by the genitive case of a specified constellation) usually the fourth brightest star in a constellation

2. any of a group of US launch vehicles used to put unmanned satellites into orbit

3. communications a code word for the letter d

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delta ³ British  

/ dɛlˈteɪɪk, ˈdɛltə /

noun

1. the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet (Δ, δ), a consonant transliterated as d

2. an object resembling a capital delta in shape

3. (capital when part of name) the flat alluvial area at the mouth of some rivers where the mainstream splits up into several distributaries

   the Mississippi Delta

4. maths a finite increment in a variable

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delta Scientific  

/ dĕl′tə /

1. A usually triangular mass of sediment, especially silt and sand, deposited at the mouth of a river. Deltas form when a river flows into a body of standing water, such as a sea or lake, and deposits large quantities of sediment. They are usually crossed by numerous streams and channels and have exposed as well as submerged areas.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• deltaic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deltas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of delta

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English delta, deltha, from Latin delta, from Greek délta; akin to Hebrew dāleth

Explanation

Named for the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (shaped like a triangle), a delta is a triangular area where a major river divides into several smaller parts that usually flow into a larger body of water. The first so-called delta was the Nile Delta, named by the Greek historian Herodotus. What makes a delta so special? Alluvial deposits are the rich mineral soil that can be found in the delta. Despite frequent floods, farmers often settle in a delta for this reason. Here's some more fun delta trivia: the deltoid muscles in your shoulders are named after the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

delta Delta deltas

For decades, so much water has been taken that the river seldom meets the sea in Mexico, and its delta, once filled with lush wetlands and forests, has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

At the delta of the Rhine and Meuse in the Netherlands, on land largely reclaimed from the North Sea, it's the biggest port for freight, external in Europe.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Farmers in the Po delta accuse all their rivals up the Po valley of leaving them with too little.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

To investigate the connection, Centrón and her colleagues analyzed 68 bacterial strains collected in 2018 and 2020 from sediment in a protected nature reserve in the Paraná delta, a wetland region north of Buenos Aires.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

“Down Cairo way? Yeah. It’s in the delta of the Ohio and the Mississippi. Like Cairo in Egypt, in the Nile delta.”

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Rich Privorotsky, head of Delta One trading at Goldman Sachs, told clients in a desk note published Monday that this index had now fallen 40% since the end of June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

State officials say agencies have committed $2.9 billion under the program, much of which will go toward restoring aquatic habitat for fish in the Delta.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Impact on bottom line: The new interiors are part of American’s plan to catch up to Delta and United, its more profitable rivals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The update will set rules for the Sacramento River and the rest of the Delta, where pumps operated by state and federal agencies send water flowing in aqueducts to farms and cities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The lush green of the Delta and the heavy damp smell from the fields helped me get my mind on something other than R.C.’s bullying.

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

The world-renowned site features iron carbonate concretions that formed some 309 million years ago, fossilizing within them ancient creatures that had once thrived in the area's lush swamps, shallow seas and river deltas.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

In 18 of the 40 deltas, this downward movement, known as subsidence, already exceeds local sea-level rise.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026

This research offers the first detailed, high-resolution analysis of elevation loss across 40 river deltas around the world.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 20, 2026

That means they are also imperiling some of the world’s most important food-producing lowlands in the Nile and Mekong deltas and cities from Shanghai to New York.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2025

In his badly penned sigmas and deltas she spied the shaking hand of her son’s growing anxiety.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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