ter·tia·ry
ˈtər-shē-ˌer-ē
-shə-rē
1
a
: of third rank, importance, or value
b
chiefly British
: of, relating to, or being higher education
c
: of, relating to, or constituting the third strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists (such as the stress of the third syllable of basketball team)
2
capitalized
: of, relating to, or being the first period of the Cenozoic era or the corresponding system of rocks marked by the formation of high mountains (such as the Alps, Caucasus, and Himalayas) and the dominance of mammals on land see Geologic Time Table
3
a
: involving or resulting from the substitution of three atoms or groups
a tertiary salt
tertiary amine
b
: being or containing a carbon atom having bonds to three other carbon atoms
an acid containing a tertiary carbon
tertiary alcohols
4
: occurring in or being a third stage: such as
a
: being or relating to the recovery of oil and gas from old wells by means of the underground application of heat and chemicals
b
: being or relating to the purification of wastewater by removal of fine particles, nitrates, and phosphates
plural tertiaries
1
[Medieval Latin tertiarius, from Latin, of a third]
: a member of a monastic third order especially of lay people
2
capitalized
: the Tertiary (see tertiary entry 1 sense 2) period or system of rocks
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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