continuous wave

American  

[kuhn-tin-yoo-uhs weyv] / kənˈtɪn yu əs ˈweɪv /

noun

Telecommunications.

1. an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency: used to carry information by being modulated, as in radio or television, or by being interrupted as in radiotelegraphy. CW

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adjective

1. Also continuous-wave noting a machine or device that functions through a constant and controlled output of waves, as of light from a laser, sound from an ultrasound, or radio energy from radar. CW

Etymology

Origin of continuous wave

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

The chosen location was not a stadium, but an urban setting ideal for spreading a visible, continuous wave: the emblematic Paseo de la Reforma, an iconic arterial road inspired by European boulevards.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

And on the fourth, he managed to create a continuous wave.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

“Somerville has experienced a continuous wave of immigration now for well over a century of Europeans and those from the Caribbean and Central and South America,” he said in a telephone interview.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2019

These machines take the math exercise that is a digital signal and turn it into the continuous wave that is analog.

From Washington Post

This method of receiving continuous wave signals is called the “heterodyne” method.

From Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son by Mills, John