heterodyne

[ het-er-uh-dahyn ]

adjective
  1. noting or pertaining to a method of changing the frequency of an incoming radio signal by adding it to a signal generated within the receiver to produce fluctuations or beats of a frequency equal to the difference between the two signals.

verb (used without object),het·er·o·dyned, het·er·o·dyn·ing.
  1. to produce a heterodyne effect.

verb (used with object),het·er·o·dyned, het·er·o·dyn·ing.
  1. to mix (a frequency) with a different frequency so as to achieve a heterodyne effect.

Origin of heterodyne

1
1905–10; hetero- + -dyne<Greek dýnamis power

Words Nearby heterodyne

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use heterodyne in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heterodyne

heterodyne

/ (ˈhɛtərəʊˌdaɪn) /


verb
  1. electronics to combine by intermodulation (two alternating signals, esp radio signals) to produce two signals having frequencies corresponding to the sum and the difference of the original frequencies: See also superheterodyne receiver

adjective
  1. produced by, operating by, or involved in heterodyning two signals

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012