broadband

[ brawd-band ]

/ ˈbrɔdˌbænd /

Telecommunications.

Save This Word!

adjective

of, relating to, or responsive to a continuous, wide range of frequencies.Compare sharp (def. 23).

relating to or denoting a type of high-speed data transmission in which the bandwidth is shared by more than one simultaneous signal: Broadband internet technologies are superior to dial-up connections for streaming video.

noun

broadband transmission.

a broadband internet connection.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of broadband

First recorded in 1900–05; broad + band²

Words nearby broadband

bro, broach, broad, broad arrow, broadax, broadband, broad-based, broad bean, broadbill, broadbrim, broad-brush

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use broadband in a sentence

Cox's email told James, who pays $80 a month for broadband, that his 30Mbps upload speeds will soon be reduced to 10Mbps.
Cox cuts some users’ uploads from 30Mbps to 10Mbps—here’s how to avoid it|Jon Brodkin|February 11, 2021|Ars Technica
Rural health districts with shaky broadband were doing well at distribution but using paper records, instead of reporting to the state how much vaccine they had given out.
Confusion and chaos: Inside the vaccine rollout in D.C., Maryland and Virginia|Julie Zauzmer, Gregory S. Schneider, Erin Cox|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
The linchpin of that effort is Lifeline, part of the roughly $9 billion spent annually on initiatives that aim to boost rural broadband, fund classroom technology and aid low-income families.
Lacking a Lifeline: How a federal effort to help low-income Americans pay their phone bills failed amid the pandemic|Tony Romm|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
The pandemic’s financial strains and logistical hurdles to film in-person commercials brought the industry crashing down last year, but it was already on life support as a jaded populace lives, eats and breathes broadband.
The Brave New World of Advertising|Daniel Malloy|February 7, 2021|Ozy

More than 80 million people have only one choice for broadband at home.
T-Mobile wants to stir up ‘5G FOMO’ among mobile phone users|Aaron Pressman|February 5, 2021|Fortune
Think advanced unmanned vehicles, all-aspect, broadband stealth, and undersea warfare.
The Pentagon May Finally Have a Plan to Keep America on Top|Bill Sweetman|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Neither did the technology to add broadband-active jamming to a stealth aircraft exist in 1995.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Hide From Russian Radar|Bill Sweetman|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last year, I also pledged to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years.
Full Text of President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address||January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the urging of phone and cable lobbyists, the agency changed the way it treated broadband under the law.
Does This Ruling Mean The End of the Internet? Maybe.|Craig Aaron|January 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Second: the fixed broadband providers could not discriminate against legal traffic.
Up To Speed: Here is Everything You Need to Know About The Recent Blow to Net Neutrality|William O’Connor|January 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once I was close enough for secure broadband communications, I got ready to back up.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom|Cory Doctorow
More broadband, and soon we will download the running athlete directly onto our monitors.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for broadband

broadband

/ (ˈbrɔːdˌbænd) /

noun

a transmission technique using a wide range of frequencies that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connectionsSee also baseband

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

Cultural definitions for broadband

broadband

In communications technology, the ability to send many signals over a single cable or other such communication medium. Broadband technology allows enormous amounts of data, such as that for movie videos, to be transferred over limited information infrastructure.