plural betas
1
: the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet see Alphabet Table
2
: something or someone designated with the name beta or the Greek letter β especially denoting the second in position, order, or class
3
: a nearly complete prototype of a product (such as software)
the beta version
also
: a stage of development in which a product is nearly complete but not yet ready for release
The app is still in beta.
4
: beta particle
beta emissions
5
: a measure of the risk potential of a stock or an investment portfolio expressed as a ratio of the stock's or portfolio's volatility to the volatility of the market as a whole
Beta measures a stock's price volatility—or risk—compared with the market in general …—
Marlys J. Harris
Marlys J. Harris6
: beta wave
The findings could also help scientists better understand other beta-associated disorders, such as Parkinson's disease or obsessive compulsive disorder …—Brown University News Release (Providence, Rhode Island)
Brown University News Release (Providence, Rhode Island)
: second in position in the structure of an organic molecule from a particular group or atom
beta substitution
—often used in combination —symbol β
Examples of beta in a Sentence
Noun
a program that is currently in beta
Recent Examples on the WebAmy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
This beta release follows Google’s shipment of a developer preview of Android 15 in February that focused on privacy and security, followed by a second developer preview in March that revealed new satellite-roaming and PDF-display features.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
To reduce this risk, Bridges started taking a beta blocker medication every day to help slow the dilation of his aorta.
—Amanda Sealy, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
Tesla is also throwing in three months of free Full-Self Driving beta to help move cars.
—Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
The average overall activity is a mix of many different frequencies, with the five main ones called delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma waves.
—Giridhar Kalamangalam, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
The kit will be officially released later this year, but Boston Dynamics is starting a slow rollout through an early adopter beta program.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2024
According to Earley, eligible Disney+ subscribers have created more than 5 million secondary profiles since the beta launch of Hulu on Disney+.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Disney says that Hulu on Disney+ is now live and out of beta, giving subscribers to both services (or to the Disney bundle) access to content in one place.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 2 Apr. 2024
Microsoft made a downloadable ISO disk image file for the beta Insider version available for installing Windows 11, allowing in-place upgrades or clean installations on a PC or in a virtual machine.
—PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
Their cheerful orange color comes from beta carotene, which supports healthy eyesight.
—Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 27 Jan. 2024
In two months, Jones had a beta site up and running in 2021.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Plus, beta radiation isn't as harmful as, say, gamma rays.
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2024
The former product, while featuring some beta multimodal audio AI features and a camera, doesn’t have any visual AR elements.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 27 Feb. 2024
The update will launch in iOS and iPad OS 17.4 and macOS 14.4 after previously being deployed in the beta versions of the software.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Staples made cinematic music videos and even a beta version of The Vince Staples Show on YouTube.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2024
Noun
Inside crepey wrinkles and wiry fur, heavy brows and grubby nails, plodding feet and soft, pale bellies are Keough and her three co-stars, Nathan Zellner as the alpha, Jesse Eisenberg as the beta and Christophe Zajac-Denek as the child who occasionally suckles at Keough’s breasts.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
This beta release follows Google’s shipment of a developer preview of Android 15 in February that focused on privacy and security, followed by a second developer preview in March that revealed new satellite-roaming and PDF-display features.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
To reduce this risk, Bridges started taking a beta blocker medication every day to help slow the dilation of his aorta.
—Amanda Sealy, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
Tesla is also throwing in three months of free Full-Self Driving beta to help move cars.
—Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
The average overall activity is a mix of many different frequencies, with the five main ones called delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma waves.
—Giridhar Kalamangalam, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
The kit will be officially released later this year, but Boston Dynamics is starting a slow rollout through an early adopter beta program.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2024
According to Earley, eligible Disney+ subscribers have created more than 5 million secondary profiles since the beta launch of Hulu on Disney+.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Disney says that Hulu on Disney+ is now live and out of beta, giving subscribers to both services (or to the Disney bundle) access to content in one place.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Ultimately, the company concluded that the beta version of Fedora Linux 40 contained two affected versions of the xz libraries.
—Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 2 Apr. 2024
Microsoft made a downloadable ISO disk image file for the beta Insider version available for installing Windows 11, allowing in-place upgrades or clean installations on a PC or in a virtual machine.
—PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
Their cheerful orange color comes from beta carotene, which supports healthy eyesight.
—Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 27 Jan. 2024
In two months, Jones had a beta site up and running in 2021.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Plus, beta radiation isn't as harmful as, say, gamma rays.
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2024
The former product, while featuring some beta multimodal audio AI features and a camera, doesn’t have any visual AR elements.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 27 Feb. 2024
The update will launch in iOS and iPad OS 17.4 and macOS 14.4 after previously being deployed in the beta versions of the software.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Staples made cinematic music videos and even a beta version of The Vince Staples Show on YouTube.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beta.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Beta.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beta. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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