DELTA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does delta mean? 

• DELTA (noun)
  The noun DELTA has 3 senses:

1. a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water

2. an object shaped like an equilateral triangle

3. the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet

  Familiarity information: DELTA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DELTA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

the Nile delta

Hypernyms ("delta" is a kind of...):

alluvial deposit; alluvial sediment; alluvion; alluvium (clay or silt or gravel carried by rushing streams and deposited where the stream slows down)

formation; geological formation ((geology) the geological features of the earth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An object shaped like an equilateral triangle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("delta" is a kind of...):

equiangular triangle; equilateral triangle (a three-sided regular polygon)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The 4th letter of the Greek alphabet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("delta" is a kind of...):

alphabetic character; letter; letter of the alphabet (the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech)

Holonyms ("delta" is a member of...):

Greek alphabet (the alphabet used by ancient Greeks)

 Context examples 

An endocrine neoplasm arising from the delta cells of the pancreas which produce somatostatin.

(Pancreatic Delta Cell Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A usually malignant, somatostatin producing neuroendocrine tumor, arising from the delta cells of the pancreas.

(Pancreatic Somatostatin-Producing Neuroendocrine Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

A neuroendocrine tumor arising from the delta cells of the pancreas.

(Pancreatic Somatostatinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (441 aa, ~50 kDa) is encoded by the human PPARD gene.

(Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Delta, NCI Thesaurus)

The alpha cells make glucagon, which raises the level of glucose in the blood; the beta cells make insulin; the delta cells make somatostatin.

(Pancreas, NCI Thesaurus)

Formulated therapeutic analogs of one of a number of endogenous chemokines other than those classified as CXC, CC, C, or CX3C (previously known as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, respectively).

(Other Recombinant Chemokine, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare somatostatin-secreting tumor of pancreatic delta cells associated with diabetes mellitus or abnormal glucose tolerance.

(Mouse Somatostatinoma, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

It is a competitive antagonist at mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptors.

(Naloxone Hydrochloride, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A usually malignant neuroendocrine tumor arising from the delta cells of the pancreas.

(Non-Functional Pancreatic Delta Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

An orally bioavailable, highly selective and potent small molecule inhibitor of the delta and gamma isoforms of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities.

(PI3K delta/gamma Inhibitor IPI-145, NCI Thesaurus)