gamma

1. 1.

   the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet

   Broaderletter

   Part ofGreek alphabet
2. 2.

   a unit of magnetic field strength equal to one-hundred-thousandth of an oersted

   Broaderfield strength unit

   Part ofoersted
3. 3.

   Portuguese navigator who led an expedition around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497; he sighted and named Natal on Christmas Day before crossing the Indian Ocean (1469-1524)

   Synonymsda GammaVasco da Gamma

   Broadernavigator

Other forms of gamma

plural

gammas·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about gamma

What does gamma mean?

gamma means "the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in gamma?

gamma has 2 syllables: gam-ma. The stress falls on "gam". In IPA it is /ˈɡæmə/.

What is another word for gamma?

Close synonyms include da Gamma, Vasco da Gamma. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is gamma a common word?

gamma is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.