tetrahedral

adjective

tet·​ra·​he·​dral ˌte-trə-ˈhē-drəl How to pronounce tetrahedral (audio)
1
: being a polyhedral angle with four faces
2
: relating to, forming, or having the form of a tetrahedron
tetrahedrally adverb

Examples of tetrahedral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Islam ran experiments on three different microplastics shapes (spherical, tetrahedral and cylindrical) and sizes (1.6, 2.56 and 5.56 microns). Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2023 At a factory in Give, a small town near the middle of Jutland, workers with welding tools are gearing up to produce massive tetrahedral structures, designed by Mr. Stiesdal, that will serve as bases for floating wind turbines. Stanley Reed, New York Times, 13 May 2023 The main actors whose collective electrical activity is thought to be responsible for the EEG signals, via a mechanism known as volume conduction, are cortical pyramidal neurons, named for their tetrahedral shape. Christof Koch, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2017 Relatively small tetrahedral kite in flight. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 21 Jan. 2021 The compound at the heart of the SpinQ machine is dimethylphosphite, a tetrahedral molecule consisting of one phosphorous atom, one hydrogen atom, an oxygen and two CH3O groups. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2021 For this pyramid, sheer size is not the real superlative; Vegas, after all, has its own, even larger tetrahedral hotel. Boyce Upholt, Outside Online, 10 Aug. 2022 In 1951 Ruben Rausing backed an invention by the engineer Erik Wallenberg: a tetrahedral paper tube that would allow liquids to be sealed inside without any oxygen and be preserved for longer. Amie Tsang, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2019 The breakthrough came when a friend gave him a cheap tetrahedral kite. Joshua Davis, WIRED, 1 June 2003

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

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tetrahedral was in 1794

Dictionary Entries Near tetrahedral

Cite this Entry

“Tetrahedral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetrahedral. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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