delta

[del-tuh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR delta ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the consonant sound represented by this letter.

the fourth in a series of items.

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

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

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

(usually initial capital letter) a word used in communications to represent the letter D.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. a star that is usually the fourth brightest of a constellation: The fourth brightest star in the Southern Cross is Delta Crucis.

Origin of delta

1350–1400; Middle English deltha < Latin delta < Greek délta; akin to Hebrew dāleth

Can be confuseddelta estuary

Delta

[del-tuh]

noun Military.

the NATO name for a class of Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine armed with 16 multi-warhead missiles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for delta

basin, fjord, estuary, box, entrance, door, cavity, rim, gate, sound, canal, creek, gulf, harbor, strait, cove, bay, bayou, ingress, bight

Examples from the Web for delta

Contemporary Examples of delta

When Tonie Tobias started at Delta in 1996 she was shy and closeted.
How A Company’s Support of Gay Employees Helped One of Them To Come Out
December 24, 2014
I told them the story about how Delta helped her propose to me in the middle of the international terminal here at Delta.
How A Company’s Support of Gay Employees Helped One of Them To Come Out
December 24, 2014
Delta was a sponsor of the HRC dinner here in Atlanta and I went and met her there.
How A Company’s Support of Gay Employees Helped One of Them To Come Out
December 24, 2014
Companies like Delta, Apple, and Nike flex their political muscle on behalf of gay rights.
Corporations Are No Longer Silent on LGBT Issues
December 24, 2014
It was because of Delta that I actually started helping out in the community, volunteering.
How A Company’s Support of Gay Employees Helped One of Them To Come Out
December 24, 2014

Historical Examples of delta

He was exiled at the age of 30 to Tomi, a town south of the delta of the Danube.
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
The oval between the river and the hills to the East is known as the "Delta."
The Negro Farmer
Carl Kelsey
The Delta records a benefit given him at the theatre in 1854.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917
Various
It empties into the Caspian Sea, with a delta of more than seventy branches.
The Story of Russia
R. Van Bergen, M.A.
The Karens are numerically the strongest and live in the delta of the Irrawaddy.
Travels in the Far East
Ellen Mary Hayes Peck

British Dictionary definitions for delta

delta

noun

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

an object resembling a capital delta in shape

(capital when part of name) the flat alluvial area at the mouth of some rivers where the mainstream splits up into several distributariesthe Mississippi Delta

maths a finite increment in a variable

Derived Formsdeltaic (dɛlˈteɪɪk) or deltic, adjective

Word Origin for delta

C16: via Latin from Greek, of Semitic origin; compare Hebrew dāleth

Delta

noun

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

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

communications a code word for the letter d

Delta

noun

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)

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

Word Origin and History for delta

c.1200, Greek letter shaped like a triangle, equivalent to our "D," the name from Phoenician daleth "tent door." Herodotus used it of the mouth of the Nile, and it was so used in English from 1550s; applied to other river mouths from 1790.

delta in Medicine

delta

[dĕl′tə]

n.

The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.

The fourth one in a series.

A surface or part that resembles a triangle, such as the terminus of a pattern in a fingerprint or the shape of a muscle.

adj.

Of or characterizing the atom or radical group that is fourth in position from the functional group of atoms in an organic molecule.

Of or relating to one of four closely related chemical substances.

Relating to or characterizing a polypeptide chain that is one of five types of heavy chains present in immunoglobins.

delta in Science

delta

[dĕl′tə]

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.