amplitude

American  

[am-pli-tood, -tyood] / ˈæm plɪˌtud, -ˌtjud /

noun

• amplitudes
  plural

1. the state or quality of being ample, especially as to breadth or width; largeness; greatness of extent.

2. large or full measure; abundance; copiousness.

3. mental range, scope, or capacity.

4. Physics. the absolute value of the maximum displacement from a zero value during one period of an oscillation.

5. Electricity. the maximum deviation of an alternating current from its average value.

6. Astronomy. the arc of the horizon measured from the east or west point to the point where a vertical circle through a heavenly body would intersect the horizon.

7. Mathematics. argument.

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amplitude British  

/ ˈæmplɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. greatness of extent; magnitude

2. abundance or copiousness

3. breadth or scope, as of the mind

4. astronomy the angular distance along the horizon measured from true east or west to the point of intersection of the vertical circle passing through a celestial body

5. Also called: argument. maths (of a complex number) the angle that the vector representing the complex number makes with the positive real axis. If the point ( x, y ) has polar coordinates ( r, θ ), the amplitude of x + i y is θ , that is, arctan y/x Compare modulus See also Argand diagram

6. physics the maximum variation from the zero or mean value of a periodically varying quantity

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amplitude Scientific  

/ ăm′plĭ-to̅o̅d′ /

1. Physics One half the full extent of a vibration, oscillation, or wave. The amplitude of an ocean wave is the maximum height of the wave crest above the level of calm water, or the maximum depth of the wave trough below the level of calm water. The amplitude of a pendulum swinging through an angle of 90° is 45°.

2. Physics Compare frequency

3. Electronics The amount by which a voltage or current changes from zero or an average value.

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amplitude Cultural  

1. In physics, the height of a crest (or the depth of a trough) of a wave.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• amplitudes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of amplitude

From the Latin word amplitūdō, dating back to 1540–50. See ample, -i-, -tude

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Explanation

Amplitude describes something there is a lot of, or abundance. If people compliment the amplitude of emotion in your poetry, it means you put much emotion into what you write. The noun amplitude describes the depth, breadth, or magnitude of something — in other words, how big or full it is. It comes from the Latin amplus, "large, spacious." You can admire the amplitude of your favorite teacher's intelligence or try to guess the amplitude of a snow storm. In physics, amplitude is a change in oscillation or vibration, and in math it's the angle made with the positive horizontal axis by the vector representation of a complex number.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

amplitude amplitudes

You leave the high vaulted plaza—Roman in its sense of amplitude, an oculus high above—and turn right to enter the lobby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Although long-term agreements from memory companies and a redesign of AI chips to address memory constraints “could flatten the amplitude of the cycle,” Moore said those factors should increase the duration of the memory boom.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

In the mathematical description of a quantum state, the real part represents the amplitude, while the imaginary part represents the phase.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

Magnitudes on the Richter scale are measured logarithmically, with each whole number increase representing ten times more in measured amplitude.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

Polly read the page-long letter, bristling with words like amplitude, parallax, and refraction.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

The phenomenon also occurs in other animals, including non-human primates and rodents, and happens with other modalities too, such as sound amplitudes and frequencies.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024

This created pressure waves with particular amplitudes, which were stretched out by later cosmic expansion to a bit less than half a billion light-years.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023

In the earlier research into octopus brain waves, scientists described slow and prolonged oscillations with large amplitudes, unlike any brain wave produced by other animals.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2023

This model works well enough for lower swinging amplitudes, but it falls apart as the amplitude of a swing increases.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 6, 2023

Two motions, therefore, are conjugate if and only if the amplitudes of their translation and rotation components are respectively equal.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various

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