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

Words nearby tetrahedron

tetragonal trisoctahedron, tetragram, Tetragrammaton, tetrahedral, tetrahedrite, tetrahedron, tetrahydrate, tetrahydric, tetrahydrocannabidinol, tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrofuran

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tetrahedron in a sentence

Furthermore, in 1980 Hans Debrunner showed that any tetrahedron that tiles space must have a Dehn invariant of 0 — the same as a cube.
Undergraduates Hunt for Special Tetrahedra That Fit Together|Kevin Hartnett|February 9, 2021|Quanta Magazine
The tetrahedron is the simplest three-dimensional shape with flat sides.
Tetrahedron Solutions Finally Proved Decades After Computer Search|Kevin Hartnett|February 2, 2021|Quanta Magazine
It establishes that there are exactly 59 isolated examples plus two infinite families of tetrahedra that meet this condition.
Tetrahedron Solutions Finally Proved Decades After Computer Search|Kevin Hartnett|February 2, 2021|Quanta Magazine
On the cube, tetrahedron, octahedron and icosahedron, any straight path that starts and ends on the same vertex must pass through some other vertex along the way.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine

Imagine starting from a vertex of a tetrahedron and heading out on a straight path along a face.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Kailas turns a sharp edge to the north, and from here the peak resembles a tetrahedron more than ever.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 2 (of 2)|Sven Hedin
The most simple of all would have been the tetrahedron, or pyramid built upon a triangular base.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot
At the vertices of a regular tetrahedron may be found such points.
The Mystery of Space|Robert T. Browne
Above the tetrahedron is a balloon-shaped figure, apparently drawn into shape by the attraction of the tetrahedron.
Occult Chemistry|Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
This puzzle concerns the painting of the four sides of a tetrahedron, or triangular pyramid.
Amusements in Mathematics|Henry Ernest Dudeney

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.