Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2016	Nov. 04, 2016
Document Information
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 02, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	TER
Entity Registrant Name	TERADYNE, INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000097210
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		201,222,112