Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The second letter of the Greek alphabet. See Table at alphabet.
- n. The second item in a series or system of classification.
- n. A mathematical measure of the sensitivity of rates of return on a portfolio or a given stock compared with rates of return on the market as a whole. A beta of 1.0 indicates that an asset closely follows the market; a beta greater than 1.0 indicates greater volatility than the market.
- n. Physics A beta particle.
- n. Physics A beta ray.
- n. Chemistry The second position from a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a radical may be substituted.
- n. Chemistry An isomeric variation of a chemical compound. Used in combination: beta-estradiol.
- n. Computer Science A beta version.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A genus of apetalous plants, natural order Chenopodiaceæ. See beet.
- n. The second letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to English B or b.
- n. As a classifier in astronomy, chemistry, etc., the second in any series. See alpha, 3.
- n. A genus of dicotyledonous plants belonging to the family Chenopodiaceæ. They are annual or biennial herbs with fleshy roots, distinguished from
Chenopodium by the three small bracts at the base of each flower and by the fact that the ovary is embedded in the succulent base of the perianth, which thickens and hardens as the fruit ripens, becoming angular and sometimes toothed or prickly. The genus includes 5 or 6 species, natives of Europe, the Orient, and northern Africa. Some of the species are ornamental. For B. vulgaris, seebeet , 1, and seebeet-chards , under chard. - n. In the Fiji Islands, a plant of the ginger family, Zinziber Zerumbet. See awapuhi.
Wiktionary
- adj. Identifying a molecular position in an organic chemical compound.
- adj. Designates the second in an order of precedence.
- adj. computing Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.
- adj. of a person associated with the beta male/female archetype.
- n. The name of the second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.
- n. Used in marking scheme: α, β, γ or α+, α, α-, β etc.
- n. finance Average sensitivity of a security's price to overall securities market prices.
- n. computing The phase of development after alpha testing and before launch, in which software, while not complete, has been released to potential users for testing.
- n. computing A computer program in such phase; a preliminary version.
- n. climbing Information about a route which may aid someone in climbing it.
- n. physics A beta particle or beta ray.
- n. A beta fish, of the genus Betta.
- n. A beta male.
- v. computing To preliminarily release computer software for initial testing prior to final release.
- v. To proofread a text, especially fan fiction.
GNU Webster's 1913
WordNet 3.0
- n. beets.
- adj. second in order of importance
- n. the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet
- adj. preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek βῆτα (bēta) (Wiktionary)
- Greek bēta, of Phoenician origin; see byt in Semitic roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The new version plays on Windows, MacOS and Linux, and, while still in beta, is far more stable and robust.”
“Antibiotics such as penicillin are called, collectively, beta-lactams, and enzymes that break down these antibiotics and confer drug resistance are called beta-lactamases, which is why the term beta-lactamase may pop up in this blog entry from time to time.”
Axe (2004) and the evolution of enzyme function - The Panda's Thumb
“But there's no evidence suggesting that such evolution should be represented by the term beta, even if marketers wanted it to. jkOnTheRun: Apple 24-inch Cinema Display on the way, again”
“We have a unique definition of the term beta, but it basically amounts to products meeting very high internal standards," Kovacs said.”
“I have heard that the beta is available to folks who bought the last Counterstrike game.”
“It is two drugs in one-what we call a beta-blocker and a diuretic.”
“There was what he called a beta copy made by the Dr. Phil show.”
“Q&A format as well as moving forth into social search by launching what it calls the beta version of "new Ask. com" site, focusing on its proprietary technology designed for Q&A.”
“As I've said in my prepared remarks, we're quite proud of the fact that against what we call a beta headwind, we were able to deliver alpha results to our investors, and look forward to talking to you next quarter.”
Nasdaq OMX Group Q3 2010 Earnings Call Transcript -- Seeking Alpha
“Our store's what you call a beta," Biggs says of the Wichita Bossa Grill.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘beta’.
-
Programming Languages
The last time someone tried this theme, it was a closed list with only two words; time to make amends. Scripting languages, etc. are also fair game...
c, c++, java, pascal, delphi, python, perl, lisp, algol, cobol, ada, apl and 121 more...
-
SCIE - EU nomenclature
All the scientific words found in the official EU nomenclature. For the screening I used Vocabgrabber of the Visual Thesaurus.
abdominal, absorbent, accelerator, accumulator, acebutolol, acetamide, acetanilide, acetate, acetic acid, acetone, acetous, acetyl and 1171 more...
-
Options Lexis
Options terms you must know in order to be a successful options trader.
abandon, accrued interest, acquisition, adjusted option, affidavit of domi..., all-or-none order..., american deposito..., american stock ex..., american-style op..., arbitrage, ask or offer, assigned and 366 more...
-
IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
veal, valve, used, yak, wax, wan, teak, vat, vas, strip, use, strap and 4515 more...
-
The Buzz
The bang, the cannonade,
the bale, the hum.lab situation, media, startup, scientific, gameplay, social, intuitive, creative, collaborative, funding, non-governmental ..., consultant and 124 more...
-
TECH - web application frameworks
object-oriented p..., ALGOL, validation, Erlang, markup language, Python, hibernate, framework, Apache, template, mapper, Java and 310 more...
-
webdev
random webdev lingo used primarily in computer programming.
( open list, randomness, technical jargon, geek speak )
more:
ajax, user, admin, frontend, backend, database, sql, protocol, call, dom, layout, ui and 439 more... -
Stock Market
n. an exchange where security trading is conducted by professional stockbrokers
stock market, common stock, preferred stock, AMAX, amax, Arbitrage, arbitrage, big board, Dow Theory, after hours trading, ask, back testing and 22 more...
-
Trigonometry
trigonometry, Trigonometry, triangle, angle, sine, cosine, tangent, trigonometric fun..., sin, cos, tan, opposite and 79 more...
-
Climbing lingo
Lingo that immediately classifies you as a climbing insider
crimp, gaston, beta, sherpa, Bonnington, Chouinard, The Gunks, hexentrics, The Dru, Black Ice Culoir, Fitzroy, Black Diamond Equ... and 38 more...
-
ECON - stock markets
after hours trading, arbitrage, ask, auction market, back testing, bear market, best ask, best bid, beta, bid, big board, block trade and 82 more...
-
Shadowkeir's list
This list, the one shown below this very message, is a collection of words that you cannot begin to fathom how much I adore. The list will also feature atithesis and contrasting words such as the t...
wishful, anticlimactic, forte, monchromatic, septic, wonderous, isoclinal, deformed, disintergrate, favourite, laughable, awe-inspiring and 250 more...
-
Wordlist_WordOperation_Test
Testing WordOperation Test
Computer, beta, charge, power, precious, crystal, nature, world, animal, cat
-
Wordlist_WordOperation_Test
Testing WordOperation Test
Computer, beta, charge, power, precious, crystal, nature, world, animal, cat
-
Letters
See also The Phonetic alphabet by oroboros.
aye, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, eff, gee, aitch, eye, jay, kay and 452 more...
-
Junk
walrus, fascination, broadway, fickle, downturn, bridge, gargle, rotunda, mesh, fab, shortlife, strumming and 304 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for beta.

diandal This word is used differently in rock climbing as noted by the Double-Tongued Dictionary:
in the sport of rock climbing, advice or instruction on the best way to climb a geographic feature.
Apr 1, 2009
qroqqa Also (for fanfic):
n. a beta reader
v.t. do a beta read of Jul 3, 2008
bilby I'm never sure how to pronounce it.
Good betta best
Never let it rest
Until your good is bayta
And your beata best!
Jun 25, 2008
asativum The British pronunciation always makes me chuckle. Horribly provincial of me, I know. Jun 25, 2008
seanahan The nickname of Eratosthenes, for being second best in many fields. Jun 25, 2008
jookerie Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. Is derived from the Phoenician letter 'Beth' (meaning 'house'). In Ancient Greek the name was spelt Βήτα and the modern English name (beta)is derived from how it was pronounced. In mathematics and physics it is used to talk about beta particles and radition. Jun 23, 2008