tetrahedron

[ te-truh-hee-druh n ]
/ ˌtɛ trəˈhi drən /

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.

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, tetrahydro-, tetrahydrocannabidinol, tetrahydrocannabinol

Example sentences from the Web for tetrahedra

  • 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

  • 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 smallest particles of fire are tetrahedra, of air octahedra, of water icosahedra.

    A Critical History of Greek Philosophy |W. T. Stace

British Dictionary definitions for tetrahedra

tetrahedron
/ (ˌtɛtrəˈhiːdrən) /

noun plural -drons or -dra (-drə)

a solid figure having four plane faces. A regular tetrahedron has faces that are equilateral triangles See also polyhedron
any object shaped like a tetrahedron

Derived forms of tetrahedron

tetrahedral, adjective tetrahedrally, adverb

Word Origin for tetrahedron

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

Scientific definitions for tetrahedra

tetrahedron
[ tĕt′rə-hē′drən ]

Plural tetrahedrons tetrahedra

A polyhedron having four faces.