noun
delta
DEHL-tuh
noun
1
The fan-shaped area of low, often marshy land where a river splits into channels before reaching the sea.
"The Nile delta supports millions of people through its fertile soil."
"Wildlife thrives in the wetlands of the delta."
2
The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, or, by extension, a small change or difference between two values.
"Engineers tracked the delta between the two test results."
How to Use Delta
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither the triangular land where a river fans out into the sea, or a small measurable difference between two things.
Common pairings
the Mississippi delta
a delta of change
river delta
Word Forms
deltaed past tense, deltas singular
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The Nile _____ supports millions of people through its fertile soil.
Etymology
From the Greek letter delta (Δ), whose triangular shape resembles a river delta — itself borrowed from an earlier Phoenician word for "door".