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lambda

American  
[lam-duh] / ˈlæm də /

noun

  1. the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ).

  2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.


lambda British  
/ ˈlæmdə /

noun

  1. the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ), a consonant transliterated as l

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lambda

< Greek ( m ) bda < Semitic; see lamed

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In this study, they found that the lambda phage shares this mechanism.

From Science Daily • Nov. 21, 2023

The Greek letter lambda in the cosmic recipe represents one possible explanation, the cosmological constant, which Einstein himself had proposed in 1917.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2023

Type I interferons’ reputation for unpleasant and sometimes deadly side effects, as well as interferons’ lack of efficacy in trials of hospitalized patients, may have slowed progress on researching interferon lambda.

From Scientific American • Feb. 8, 2023

For all of its promise, though, the drug — called pegylated interferon lambda — faces an uncertain road to the commercial market.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2023

Well, then, there is the letter lambda; what business has this in a word meaning hardness?

From Cratylus by Jowett, Benjamin

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