tetrad

noun

tet·​rad ˈte-ˌtrad How to pronounce tetrad (audio)
: a group or arrangement of four: such as
a
: a group of four cells produced by the successive divisions of a mother cell
a tetrad of spores
b
: a group of four synapsed chromatids that become visibly evident in the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase
tetradic adjective

Examples of tetrad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Chris Colin’s fascinating Wired feature skirts that tetrad, instead tracing the evolving norms around supporting a person when their inward journey goes to dark places. Longreads, 7 July 2023 And the tetrad are –the elements of that are – narcissism, paranoia, Machiavellianism and sadism. CBS News, 29 Mar. 2023 In One Night in Miami, the feature film debut from director Regina King, actors Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr. have the difficult task of embodying the iconic tetrad of Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali), Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke, respectively. Marcus Jones, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2020 There's also little justification for retaining haploid genetics, fungal genetics, tetrad analysis, and classical somatic-cell genetics in an introductory genetics course. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2012 Each floor, called a tetrad, has a guanine (G) base on all four corners. Breanna Draxler, Discover Magazine, 27 Jan. 2014 Creative awards aren’t limited to that entertainment tetrad known as the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Peter Rubin, Longreads, 28 Feb. 2022 Those taps, along with any line completions, create new flashes and animations, and these very rarely obscure your all-important tetrads. Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 9 Nov. 2018 At its most technical, a blood moon is a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses or tetrad, which is not the case for the upcoming eclipse. Mika McKinnon, Smithsonian, 26 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tetrad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Greek tetrad-, tetras, from tetra-

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tetrad was in 1653

Dictionary Entries Near tetrad

Cite this Entry

“Tetrad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetrad. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

tetrad

noun
tet·​rad ˈte-ˌtrad How to pronounce tetrad (audio)
: a group or arrangement of four: as
a
: a tetravalent element, atom, or radical
b
: a group of four cells arranged usually in the form of a tetrahedron and produced by the successive divisions of a mother cell
a tetrad of spores
c
: a group of four synapsed chromatids that become visibly evident in the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase and are produced by the longitudinal splitting of each of two paired homologous chromosomes
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