Definition of Tertiary in English :

Define Tertiary in English

Tertiary meaning in English

Meaning of Tertiary in English

Pronunciation of Tertiary in English

Tertiary pronunciation in English

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Tertiary

see synonyms of tertiary

Noun

1. tertiary, tertiary period

from 63 million to 2 million years ago

Adjective

2. 3rd, tertiary, third

coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.


Tertiary

see synonyms of tertiary
adjective
1. 
third in degree, order, etc
2. 
(of education) taking place after secondary school, such as at university, college, etc
3. 
(of an industry) involving services as opposed to extraction or manufacture, such as transport, finance, etc
Compare primary (sense 8b), secondary (sense 7)
4. Roman Catholic Church
of or relating to a Third Order
5. chemistry
a. 
(of an organic compound) having a functional group attached to a carbon atom that is attached to three other groups
b. 
(of an amine) having three organic groups attached to a nitrogen atom
c. 
(of a salt) derived from a tribasic acid by replacement of all its acidic hydrogen atoms with metal atoms or electropositive groups
6. Also called: tertial ornithology rare
of, relating to, or designating any of the small flight feathers attached to the part of the humerus nearest to the body
noun plural -tiaries
7. Also called: tertial ornithology rare
any of the tertiary feathers
8. Roman Catholic Church
a member of a Third Order
adjective
1. 
of, denoting, or formed in the first period of the Cenozoic era, which lasted for 63 million years, during which mammals became dominant
noun
2.  the Tertiary

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers


Tertiary

see synonyms of tertiary
adjective
1. 
of the third rank, order, formation, stage, etc.; third
2.  Chemistry
a. 
third in order or type; involving the substitution of three atoms or radicals
b. 
characterized by or designating a carbon atom or group attached to three other carbon atoms or groups in a chain or ring
3.  [usually T-]; Geology
designating or of the first geologic period of the Cenozoic Era, usually subdivided into the Paleogene and the Neogene and characterized by the formation of major mountain ranges, the first grasses and grasslands, and the development of mammals as the dominant animal
4.  Linguistics
a. 
designating, of, or being the third strongest of the four phonemic degrees of stress
b. 
a mark used to indicate this
5.  Roman Catholic Church
of a Third Order
see also Third Order
6.  Zoology
tertial
nounWord forms: plural ˈtertiˌaries
7.  Roman Catholic Church
a member of a Third Order
8.  Zoology
tertial

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.


Tertiary

see synonyms of tertiary
adj.
1. Third in place, order, degree, or rank.
2. Of, relating to, or designating the short flight feathers nearest the body on the rear edge of a bird's wing.
3. Chemistry
a. Of, relating to, or having a carbon atom that is attached to three other carbon atoms in a molecule.
b. Of or relating to the replacement of three of several atoms or groups in a compound, such as an amine in which three valences of the functional group are taken by carbon atoms.
c. Of or relating to salts of acids containing three replaceable hydrogen atoms.
4. Tertiary Of, relating to, or being the period of geologic time from about 66 to about 2.6 million years ago, the older of the two periods of the Cenozoic Era. The Tertiary Period is characterized by the appearance of modern flora, insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles, and by the dominance of mammals as vertebrate life forms on land. See Table at geologic time.
n. pl. ter·ti·ar·ies
1. A tertiary feather.
2. Tertiary The Tertiary Period.
3. Roman Catholic Church A member of a religious Third Order.

The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.