lambda

American  

[lam-duh] / ˈlæm də /

noun

1. the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ).

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

---

lambda British  

/ ˈlæmdə /

noun

1. the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ), a consonant transliterated as l

---

Etymology

Origin of lambda

< Greek lá ( m ) bda < Semitic; see lamed

Example Sentences

In this study, they found that the lambda phage shares this mechanism.

From Science Daily • Nov. 21, 2023

The Greek letter lambda in the cosmic recipe represents one possible explanation, the cosmological constant, which Einstein himself had proposed in 1917.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2023

When this happens, the result is a lambda particle.

From Scientific American • Apr. 27, 2023

With hepatitis treatments in mind, they had previously acquired a drug based on lambda interferons, a lesser-known type of interferon whose receptors are largely restricted to specific areas, like the respiratory tract.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2023

The left division in our chimpanzee approaches those in Gruber's Simia silenus and Smith's cases; but it originates much higher anteriorly, and terminates slightly below the lambda on the occipital border of the parietal.

From A Bilateral Division of the Parietal Bone in a Chimpanzee; with a Special Reference to the Oblique Sutures in the Parietal by Hrdlička, Aleš