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Synonyms of beta

dubious, experimental, flaky, new, suspect,

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12 dictionary results for: beta

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

be⋅ta

[bey-tuh or, especially Brit., bee-]

–noun

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.

Chemistry.

a.	one of the possible positions of an atom or group in a compound.

b.	one of two or more isomeric compounds.

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).

Origin:
< L < Gk bêta < Sem; cf. Heb bēth beth

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

be·ta (bā'tə, bē'-) Pronunciation Key
n.

The second letter of the Greek alphabet. See Table at alphabet.
The second item in a series or system of classification.
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.
Physics
1. A beta particle.
2. A beta ray.
3. The second position from a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a radical may be substituted.
4. An isomeric variation of a chemical compound. Used in combination: beta-estradiol.
Chemistry
1. The second position from a designated carbon atom in an organic molecule at which an atom or a radical may be substituted.
2. An isomeric variation of a chemical compound. Used in combination: beta-estradiol.
Computer Science A beta version.

[Greek bēta, of Phoenician origin; see byt in Semitic roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

adj.

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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 : BETA WAVE

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: ²beta
Variant: or β-
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to one of two or more closely related chemicalsubstances beta chain of hemoglobin> <β-yohimbine> —used somewhat arbitrarily to specify ordinal relationship or a particular physical form and especially one that isallotropic, isomeric, stereoisomeric, or sometimes polymeric (as in β-D-glucose)
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

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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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.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

BETA
Kristensen, Madsen , Moller-Pedersen & Nygaard, 1983. Object-oriented language with block structure, coroutines, concurrency, strong typing, part objects, separate objects and classless objects. Central feature is a single abstraction mechanism called "patterns", a generalisation of classes, providing instantiation and hierarchical inheritance for all objects including procedures and processes.
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)

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

beta
/bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/
See beta conversion, beta test.
[The Jargon File]

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Jargon File 4.2.0
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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