Word
lambda
Phoneticslamb·da
US/ˈɫæmdə/
UK/lˈæmbdɐ/
Definitions
01Greek letter
n. the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet.
n. the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, represented as Λ (uppercase) or λ (lowercase).
“The professor wrote the Greek letter lambda on the blackboard.”
“The student struggled to distinguish between the handwritten lambda and other similar characters in the ancient manuscript.”
02wavelength
n. a symbol used in physics to represent the length of a wave.
n. the standard symbol (λ) used in physics to denote wavelength, particularly in optics and acoustics.
“In this equation, lambda represents the wavelength of the light.”
“The experiment required precise measurement of the lambda value to determine the refractive index of the new composite material.”
Technical
Synonyms
03programming function
n. a small, simple function in computer code that does not have a name.
n. an anonymous function in computer programming, often used for short-lived operations or as arguments to higher-order functions.
“You can use a lambda to sort the list without writing a full function.”
“The developer refactored the code by replacing the named helper function with a concise lambda expression to improve readability.”
Technical
Synonyms
04cosmological constant
n. a symbol for the energy density of space in the universe.
n. the symbol (Λ) for the cosmological constant in Einstein's field equations of general relativity.
“Scientists use lambda to talk about how the universe is expanding.”
“The precise value of lambda remains one of the most significant questions in modern physical cosmology.”
Technical
Synonyms
05finance/options
n. a measure of how much an option's price changes compared to the asset it is based on.
n. a measure of leverage in options trading, representing the percentage change in option value relative to a percentage change in the underlying price.
“The trader checked the lambda to see how risky the investment was.”
“High lambda values indicate significant leverage, which can amplify both gains and losses in a volatile market environment.”
Technical
06anatomy/skull
n. the point on the back of the skull where two bone lines meet.
n. the craniometric point at the junction of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures.
“The doctor examined the lambda on the patient's X-ray.”
“The forensic anthropologist identified the lambda to help determine the age and structural integrity of the skeletal remains.”
Technical
Real-World Examples
“A regularization rate (lambda) controls the strength of regularization, with higher values leading to simpler models and lower values increasing the risk of overfitting.” “Einstein responded by adding a "cosmological constant" to his equations, represented by the Greek letter Lambda.” Etymology
From Ancient Greek λάμβδα (lámbda). Doublet of lamed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lambda