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dodecahedron

American  
[doh-dek-uh-hee-druhn, doh-dek-] / doʊˌdɛk əˈhi drən, ˌdoʊ dɛk- /

noun

Geometry, Crystallography.

plural

dodecahedrons, dodecahedra
  1. a solid figure having 12 faces.


dodecahedron British  
/ ˌdəʊdɛkəˈhiːdrən /

noun

  1. a solid figure having twelve plane faces. A regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces See also polyhedron

"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

dodecahedron Scientific  
/ dō′dĕk-ə-hēdrən /

plural

dodecahedrons
  1. A polyhedron having twelve faces.


Other Word Forms

  • dodecahedral adjective

Etymology

Origin of dodecahedron

First recorded in 1560–70; dodeca- + -hedron

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The group of volunteers plans to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2024

Granted, the shape is dramatically different than the one that existed when minor-league ball was shuttered last summer — like a square becoming a dodecahedron.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 2, 2020

A dodecahedron is a Platonic solid with a surface that consists of 12 pentagons, each of equal area.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

This involves two different polyhedra with the same volume: an irregular dodecahedron with pentagonal faces, possessing tetrahedral symmetry, and a tetrakaidecahedron, which has two hexagonal and 12 pentagonal faces possessing antiprismatic symmetry.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2015

Instead of sharing these important mathematical discoveries, the Pythagoreans suppressed the knowledge of V2 and the dodecahedron.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan