the second letter of the Greek alphabet (?, B).

the consonant sound represented by this letter.

( initial capital letter ) Astronomy . a star that is usually the second brightest of a constellation

The second brightest star in Taurus is Beta Tauri.

Chemistry .

one of the possible positions of an atom or group in a compound.

one of two or more isomeric compounds.

the second of any series, as in chemistry or physics.

Also called beta coefficient , beta line. Stock Exchange . an arbitrary measure of the volatility of a given stock using an index of the volatility of the market as a whole

A beta of 1.1 indicates a stock that is 10 percent more volatile than the market.

( initial capital letter ) Trademark . a brand of tape format for VCR tape, incompatible with other formats. Compare VHS .

Chiefly British . a grade showing that a student is in the middle or second of three scholastic sections in a class. Compare alpha ( def. 7 ) , gamma ( def. 9 ) .

adjective

dubious , experimental , flaky , mostly working , new , pre-release , suspect , testing , unready