beta

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.
2. (countable, rare, uncountable)An academic grade better than a gamma and worse than an alpha.

   “But let me tell you happy extroverts that only Vera Telfer and H. A. C. Evans got even an alpha minus; only T. E. Hendrie got a beta plus […]”

   “Mr Taylor would hardly give a beta minus to one of his history students […]”

   “The English class was for me delightful. My essays, still written under the influence of Kubla Khan, nearly always got a beta plus.”

3. (countable, uncountable)Average sensitivity of a security's price to overall securities market prices.

   “An inspection of the results indicate that Property Trusts is the lowest risk industry with a long-run beta of 0.4520 while Gold is the highest risk industry with a long-run beta of 1.5229.”

4. (uncountable)The phase of development after alpha testing and before launch, in which software, while not complete, has been released to potential users for testing.

   “The company is offering a public beta program to test the software.”

5. (countable)Software in such a phase; a preliminary version.

   “He quickly deduced our goal—ship a quality beta—but he also quickly discerned that we had no idea about the quality of the product because of our pile of untriaged bugs.”

   “We will assume you got the .tgz version—later 2.x series versions such as 2.5.2 or 2.6.0 should be okay, provided they are production releases (not alphas, betas, or release candidates).”

   “Before Evolve had even seen its first beta, the game's publisher dipped its toe into presenting it as an eSport.”

   “Apple is rolling out the public beta of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 on Thursday. We have a full (and lengthy) preview guide on both operating systems here, and now we’re breaking down how to get the public beta on your iPhone or iPad. These versions of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are betas and don’t represent final software.”

6. (proscribed, uncountable)Any kind of content from early development that was not used in the final product.

   “beta levels; beta characters; beta items in a video game”

7. (countable, uncountable)Information about a route which may aid someone in climbing it.
8. (countable, uncountable)A beta particle or beta ray.
9. (countable, uncountable)Sideslip angle.
10. (countable, uncountable)The range of engine power settings in which the blade pitch angle of a constant-speed propeller is controlled directly by the angle of the engine's throttle lever (rather than varying with engine torque and airspeed to maintain a constant propeller RPM), allowing the propeller to be disked to generate high drag and slow the aircraft quickly.
11. (alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable)Alternative spelling of betta (“fish in the genus Betta”).
12. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, slang, uncountable)Ellipsis of beta male, a man who is less competent or desirable than an alpha male.

    ““I guess in your psychological language of alpha males and beta males, I would be firmly in the camp that prefers the more laid-back betas,” she took a deep breath, “like your father.””

    ““They want sexy, virile alpha males, yes? But that doesn't come with sensitive and loyal and all of that. That's a beta. A frickin' collie, Lola. […]”

    “She'd always had a thing for alpha males. Not that she had any intention of being bossed around, even if one had her best interests at heart. Her fascination with alphas was that they were a challenge. Betas didn't hold much of an appeal.”

    “When they ride the cock carousel in preference to the responsible betas that they find so boring, well, we guess that they pay.”

    “News of Harper-Mercer's murder spree, which killed ten, prompted speculation on neoreactionary forums that the long-awaited “beta uprising” of virginal shut-ins had begun. Not quite. But in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, a large audience of Americans finally saw the real beta uprising in the violent Nazi rally that shut the city down”

13. (countable, slang, uncountable)In omegaverse fiction, a person of a secondary sex similar to normal humans, lacking the biological drives of alphas and omegas but generally capable of bonding and mating with either.

    “Many A/B/O stories posit societies where biological imperatives divide people based on wolf pack hierarchies into sexual dominants (alphas), sexual submissives (omegas), and everyone else (betas).”

    “In ASD, the beta also functions as a contrast, as Yuri is assumed to be a beta before his first heat reveals his omega status.”

    “Betas are usually second in command to the reigning alpha, and omegas belong to the lowest caste of the social hierarchy.”

14. (Hinglish, India, North, Pakistan, colloquial, countable, uncountable)a term of endearment, used towards someone of equal or lower standing such as a friend or child, similar to brother or son

    “Don't pick that up, beta, it's dirty.”

15. A member of Generation Beta.

    “With an estimated 90% of all online content expected to be generated in some way shape or form by AI by as early as 2026, theorists predict Betas will grow up in a world heavily fraught by deepfake content, truth will no longer be a fixed concept, and they will spend their lives searching for reality.”

    “For the Betas, AI and robots will be a normal part of life for them.”

    “Members of Gen Z are the first digital natives, but individual experiences varied depending on their families’ economic circumstances, a barrier no longer applicable for the Betas, she [Melissa Clark-Reynolds] says.”

    “Millennials will almost certainly spend it on luxuries such as family homes and trying to retire before they are 90 (and the odd bit of avocado toast, of course) before they can pass it on to Betas.”

adj

1. (not-comparable)Identifying a molecular position in an organic chemical compound.
2. (not-comparable)Designates the second in an order of precedence.
3. (not-comparable)Preliminary; prerelease. Refers to an incomplete version of a product released for initial testing.
4. (not-comparable)Associated with the beta male/female archetype.

verb

1. To preliminarily release computer software for initial testing prior to final release.
2. (Internet)To beta-read a text.

   “1999, sqira a., in alt.tv.x-files.creative http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.x-files.creative/msg/29d32d27e61755f2?dmode=source My thanks to Heather; who read it and betaed it. Thank you.”

   “2000, Elizabeth Durack, quoted in Angelina I. Karpovich, “The Audience as Editor: The Role of Beta Readers in Online Fan Fiction Communities” (essay), in Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse (editors), Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, McFarland (2006), →ISBN, page 180, Beta’ing is time-consuming, so asking a lot of people to give you a detailed analysis isn’t the most polite thing to do.”

   “2002, Jane Davitt, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative/msg/9301606b391212c0?dmode=source The next part is written and beta'd (thanks, Jen!), ready to go but <shuffles feet> I haven't even started what should be the final part yet.”

   “2002, Karmen Ghia, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated http://groups.google.com/group/alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated/msg/8405f53e8acbb0c1?dmode=source I had the honor of betaing this story and as I was doing the first read through I had the odd, but lovely, experience when a story suspends the reader in its own rhythm and flow, its own reality.”

name

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping)Clipping of Betamax

   “The digital revolution is changing these rules, but as of this writing, generally you submit your music video to the network for review on Beta tape.”