tetrahedron

[ te-truh-hee-druhn ]

/ ˌtɛ trəˈhi drən /

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noun, plural tet·ra·he·drons, tet·ra·he·dra

[te-truh-hee-druh]. /ˌtɛ trəˈhi drə/.

Geometry. a solid contained by four plane faces; a triangular pyramid.

any of various objects resembling a tetrahedron in the distribution of its faces or apexes.

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Origin of tetrahedron

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tetrahedron in a sentence

The globe, e, is a new form, the four tetrahedra of the proto level making a single twelve-atomed one on the meta.
Occult Chemistry|Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
The atoms are arranged in two tetrahedra with a common apex, and the relationship is maintained in the meta-body, a septet.
Occult Chemistry|Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
That matter whose smallest particles are regular tetrahedra, said Philolaus, is fire.
A Critical History of Greek Philosophy|W. T. Stace
The smallest particles of fire are tetrahedra, of air octahedra, of water icosahedra.
A Critical History of Greek Philosophy|W. T. Stace

A drop evaporated on a glass slide leaves microscopic crystals, either tetrahedra or cubes, with the edges bevelled off.
Memoranda on Poisons|Thomas Hawkes Tanner

British Dictionary definitions for tetrahedron

tetrahedron

/ (ˌtɛtrəˈhiːdrən) /

noun plural -drons or -dra (-drə)

a solid figure having four plane faces. A regular tetrahedron has faces that are equilateral trianglesSee also polyhedron

any object shaped like a tetrahedron

Derived forms of tetrahedron

tetrahedral, adjectivetetrahedrally, adverb

Word Origin for tetrahedron

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

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-hē′drən ]

Plural tetrahedrons tetrahedra

A polyhedron having four faces.