dodecahedron

do·dec·a·he·dron
D2O1D2E1C3A1H4E1D2R1O1N1
UK/ˌdəʊ.dɛk.əˈhiː.dɹən/UK/ˌdəʊ.dɪk.əˈhiː.dɹən/US/ˌdoʊ.dɛk.əˈhiː.dɹən/US/doʊˌdɛk.əˈhiː.dɹən/

noun

A polyhedron with twelve faces; the regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces and is one of the Platonic solids.

UncommonScrabble 20

Meanings

noundodecahedron (plural dodecahedra or dodecahedrons)

plural dodecahedra · plural dodecahedrons

  1. geometryA polyhedron with twelve faces; the regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces and is one of the Platonic solids.

    1707, Thomas Blount, Glossographia Anglicana Nova: Or, A Dictionary, Interpreting Such Hard Words, D. Brown, heading DO–DO, Dodecahedron, (Gr.) in Geometry, is a solid Figure of 12 Sides or Faces that are regular Pentagons, it is one of the Platonick or Regular Bodies.

    2 more examples

    It took me two years, but by the time I was 12 I could imagine the fifth four-dimensional polytope, which is made up of 120 dodecahedrons.

    2015 March 17, Diana Lutz, quoting Ivan Horozov, “Researcher builds four-dimensional figure in his office”, in Phys.org, archived from the original on 31 Aug 2025

    There is no uniformity in the size or shape of the dodecahedra found so far, nor in their metal composition or even in the level of craftsmanship. If they were important objects, we would expect to also discover contextual evidence in the archaeological record, such as depictions in paintings or mosaics.

    2024 May 9, Samantha Tipper, “Why Did Ancient Romans Make this Baffling Metal Dodecahedron?”, in Scientific American, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 May 2024

    Synonyms: duodecahedron

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA polyhedron with twelve faces; the regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces and is one of the Platonic solids.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekδωδεκάεδρον
  2. Englishdodecahedron

From Ancient Greek δωδεκάεδρον (dōdekáedron). Equivalent to dodeca- + -hedron.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan dodecàedre, dodecaedre
  • dodecàedrea polyhedron with 12 faces
  • dodecaedrea polyhedron with 12 faces
Chinese Mandarin 正十二面體 /正十二面体
  • 正十二面體 /正十二面体 (zhèngshí'èr miàntǐ)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Czech dvanáctistěn, dodekaedr
  • dvanáctistěna polyhedron with 12 faces
  • dodekaedra polyhedron with 12 faces
Danish dodekaeder
  • dodekaedera polyhedron with 12 faces
Dutch twaalfvlak, dodecaëder
  • twaalfvlaka polyhedron with 12 faces
  • dodecaëdera polyhedron with 12 faces
Esperanto dekduedro
  • dekduedroa polyhedron with 12 faces
Estonian korrapärane dodekaeeder
  • korrapärane dodekaeedera polyhedron with 12 faces
Finnish dodekaedri, kaksitoistatahokas
  • dodekaedria polyhedron with 12 faces
  • kaksitoistatahokasa polyhedron with 12 faces
French dodécaèdre
  • dodécaèdrea polyhedron with 12 faces
German Dodekaeder, Zwölfflächner
  • Dodekaedera polyhedron with 12 faces
  • Zwölfflächnera polyhedron with 12 faces
  • 12-Flächnera polyhedron with 12 faces
Greek δωδεκάεδρο
  • δωδεκάεδρο (dodekáedro)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Hebrew תְּרֵיסָרוֹן, דּוֹדֶקָהֶדְרוֹן
  • תְּרֵיסָרוֹן (t'resarón)a polyhedron with 12 faces
  • דּוֹדֶקָהֶדְרוֹן (dodekahédron)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Hungarian dodekaéder
  • dodekaédera polyhedron with 12 faces
Icelandic tólfflötungur
  • tólfflötungura polyhedron with 12 faces
Indonesian dodekahedron, bangun bersisi dua belas
  • dodekahedrona polyhedron with 12 faces
  • bangun bersisi dua belasa polyhedron with 12 faces
Irish dóideacaihéadrán
  • dóideacaihéadrána polyhedron with 12 faces
Italian dodecaedro
  • dodecaedroa polyhedron with 12 faces
Japanese 正十二面体, 十二面体
  • 正十二面体 (seijūni mentai)a polyhedron with 12 faces
  • 十二面体 (jūnimentai)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Korean 정십이면체
  • 정십이면체 (jeongsibimyeonche)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Latvian dodekaedrs
  • dodekaedrsa polyhedron with 12 faces
Lithuanian dodekaedras
  • dodekaedrasa polyhedron with 12 faces
Malay segi dua puluh, dodekahedron
  • segi dua puluha polyhedron with 12 faces
  • dodekahedrona polyhedron with 12 faces
Norwegian dodekaeder
  • dodekaedera polyhedron with 12 faces
Polish dwunastościan foremny
  • dwunastościan foremnya polyhedron with 12 faces
Portuguese dodecaedro
  • dodecaedroa polyhedron with 12 faces
Russian додека́эдр, двенадцатигранник
  • додека́эдр (dodekáedr)a polyhedron with 12 faces
  • двенадцатигранник (dvenadcatigrannik)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Spanish dodecaedro
  • dodecaedroa polyhedron with 12 faces
Swedish dodekaeder
  • dodekaedera polyhedron with 12 faces
Tamil பன்னிரண்டுமுக ஐங்கோணகம்
  • பன்னிரண்டுமுக ஐங்கோணகம் (paṉṉiraṇṭumuka aiṅkōṇakam)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Thai ทรงสิบสองหน้า
  • ทรงสิบสองหน้า (song sìp sŏng nâa)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Turkish dodekahedron
  • dodekahedrona polyhedron with 12 faces
Ukrainian додека́едр, дванадцятигра́нник
  • додека́едр (dodekáedr)a polyhedron with 12 faces
  • дванадцятигра́нник (dvanadcjatyhránnyk)a polyhedron with 12 faces
Vietnamese khối mười hai mặt
  • khối mười hai mặta polyhedron with 12 faces
Welsh dodecahedron
  • dodecahedrona polyhedron with 12 faces
Cite this entry
APA

dodecahedron. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodecahedron

MLA

“dodecahedron.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodecahedron. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dodecahedron,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodecahedron.

Source: dodecahedron on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.