beta

Second letter of the Greek alphabet, β (see entry at start of letter “B's.” [G.]

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Biomedical Electronics Technicians Association

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be·ta 'bāt-ə, chiefly Brit 'bē-tə n

1) the second letter of the Greek alphabet symbol ß or ß

2) BETA PARTICLE

3) BETA WAVE

beta or ß- adj

1) of or relating to one of two or more closely related chemical substances <the beta chain of hemoglobin> <ß-yohimbine> used somewhat arbitrarily to specify ordinal relationship or a particular physical form and esp. one that is allotropic, isomeric, stereoisomeric, or sometimes polymeric (as in ß-D-glucose)

2) second in position in the structure of an organic molecule from a particular group or atom also occurring at or having a structure characterized by such a position <\beta substitution>

3) producing a zone of decolorization when grown on blood media used of some hemolytic streptococci or of the hemolysis they cause

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Be·ta (beґtə) [L.] the beets, a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Chenopodiaceae. B. vulgaґris L. is the sugar beet, a commercial source of sucrose. The leafy tops of beets are rich in oxalates and can cause oxalate poisoning in animals that eat them in large amounts.