be⋅ta
[bey-tuh or, especially Brit., bee-]
| 1. | the second letter of the Greek alphabet (β, B). |
| 2. | the consonant sound represented by this letter. |
| 3. | (initial capital letter ) Astronomy. a star that is usually the second brightest of a constellation: The second brightest star in Taurus is Beta Tauri. |
| 4. | Chemistry.
|
| 5. | the second of any series, as in chemistry or physics. |
| 6. | Also called beta coefficient, beta line. Stock Exchange. an arbitrary measure of the volatility of a given stock using an index of the volatility of the market as a whole: A beta of 1.1 indicates a stock that is 10 percent more volatile than the market. |
| 7. | (initial capital letter ) Trademark. a brand of tape format for VCR tape, incompatible with other formats. Compare VHS. |
| 8. | Chiefly British. a grade showing that a student is in the middle or second of three scholastic sections in a class. Compare alpha (def. 7), gamma (def. 9). |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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| be·ta
(bā'tə, bē'-) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Greek bēta, of Phoenician origin; see byt in Semitic roots.] |
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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| beta | |
adjective | |
| 1. | second in order of importance; "the candidate, considered a beta male, was perceived to be unable to lead his party to victory" |
| 2. | preliminary or testing stage of a software or hardware product; "a beta version"; "beta software" |
noun | |
| 1. | the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet |
| 2. | beets |
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beta be·ta (bā'tə, bē'-)
n.
Symbol β The second letter of the Greek alphabet.- The second item in a series or system of classification.
- A beta particle.
- A beta ray.
- Of or relating to the second position from a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a radical may be substituted.
- Of or relating to an isomeric variation of a chemical compound, such as a stereoisomer.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Main Entry: 1be·ta
Pronunciation: 'bAt-&, chiefly Brit 'bE-t&
Function: noun
1 : the second letter of the Greekalphabet —symbol B or β
2 : BETA PARTICLE
3 :
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Main Entry: 2beta
Variant: or β-
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to one of two or more closely related chemicalsubstances
2 : second in position in the structure of an organic molecule from aparticular group or atom; also : occurring at or having a structure characterized by such a position <beta substitution>
3 : producing a zone ofdecolorization when grown on blood media —used of some hemolytic streptococci or of the hemolysis they cause
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Beta
A measure of a security's or portfolio's volatility, or systematic risk, in comparison to the market as a whole. Also known as "beta coefficient."
Investopedia Commentary
Beta is calculated using regression analysis, and you can think of beta as the tendency of a security's returns to respond to swings in the market. A beta of 1 indicates that the security's price will move with the market. A beta less than 1 means that the security will be less volatile than the market. A beta greater than 1 indicates that the security's price will be more volatile than the market. For example, if a stock's beta is 1.2 it's theoretically 20% more volatile than the market.
Many utilities stocks have a beta of less than 1. Conversely most high-tech Nasdaq-based stocks have a beta greater than 1, offering the possibility of a higher rate of return but also posing more risk.
Related Links
Beta: Know the Risk
Beta: Gauging Price Fluctuations
Understanding Volatility Measurements
Getting To Know The "Greeks"
See also: CAPM, CML, Systematic Risk, Volatility, Weighted Average Cost of Capital - WACC
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beta
- 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 high beta (greater than 1.0) indicates moderate or high price volatility. A beta of 1.5 forecasts a 1.5% change in the return on an asset for every 1% change in the return on the market. High-beta stocks are best to own in a strong bull market but are worst to own in a bear market. See also alpha, capital-asset pricing model, characteristic line, portfolio beta.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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BETA
Kristensen, Madsen
Mjolner Informatics ApS, Aarhus, implementations for Mac, Sun, HP, Apollo.
E-mail:
Mailing list:
["Object-Oriented Programming in the BETA Programming Language", Ole Lehrmann et al, A-W June 1993, ISBN 0-201-62430-3].
[The Jargon File]
(1995-10-31)
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beta
/bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/
See beta conversion, beta test.
[The Jargon File]
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beta
/bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/ n.1. Mostly working, but still under test; usu. used with `in': `in beta'. In the Real World, systems (hardware or software) software often go through two stages of release testing: Alpha (in-house) and Beta (out-house?). Beta releases are generally made to a group of lucky (or unlucky) trusted customers.
2. Anything that is new and experimental. "His girlfriend is in beta" means that he is still testing for compatibility and reserving judgment.
3. Flaky; dubious; suspect (since beta software is notoriously buggy).
Historical note: More formally, to beta-test is to test a pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software by making it available to selected (or self-selected) customers and users. This term derives from early 1960s terminology for product cycle checkpoints, first used at IBM but later standard throughout the industry. `Alpha Test' was the unit, module, or component test phase; `Beta Test' was initial system test. These themselves came from earlier A- and B-tests for hardware. The A-test was a feasibility and manufacturability evaluation done before any commitment to design and development. The B-test was a demonstration that the engineering model functioned as specified. The C-test (corresponding to today's beta) was the B-test performed on early samples of the production design, and the D test was the C test repeated after the model had been in production a while.
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Beta
Be"ta\, n. [Gr. bh^ta.] The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, [beta]. See B, and cf. etymology of Alphabet. Note: Beta (B, [beta]) is used variously for classifying, as: (a) (Astron.) To designate some bright star, usually the second brightest, of a constellation, as, [beta] Aurig[ae]. (b) (Chem.) To distinguish one of two or more isomers; also, to indicate the position of substituting atoms or groups in certain compounds; as, [beta]-naphthol. With acids, it commonly indicates that the substituent is in union with the carbon atom next to that to which the carboxyl group is attached.Cite This Source
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