bandwidth

American  

[band-width, -with] / ˈbændˌwɪdθ, -ˌwɪθ /

noun

1. Telecommunications. the smallest range of frequencies constituting a band within which a particular signal can be transmitted without distortion.

2. Digital Technology. the transmission capacity of an electronic communications device or system; the speed of data transfer.

   a high-bandwidth internet connection.

3. mental capacity; intelligence.

   Don't listen to him—he has really low bandwidth.

4. a person's capacity to handle or think about more than one thing at the same time.

   He doesn't have the bandwidth to make those kinds of decisions.

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bandwidth British  

/ ˈbændˌwɪdθ /

noun

1. the range of frequencies within a given waveband used for a particular transmission

2. the range of frequencies over which a receiver or amplifier should not differ by more than a specified amount

3. the range of frequencies used in a specific telecommunications signal

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bandwidth Scientific  

/ bănd′wĭdth′,-wĭth′ /

1. The numerical difference between the upper and lower frequencies of a band of electromagnetic radiation, especially an assigned range of radio frequencies.

2. The amount of data that can be passed along a communications channel in a given period of time. For analog devices, such as standard telephones, bandwith is the range of frequencies that can be transmitted and is expressed in hertz (cycles per second). For digital devices, bandwidth is measured in bits per second. The wider the bandwidth, the faster data can be sent.

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bandwidth Cultural  

1. The amount of data that can be carried by a digital communication medium, often expressed in hertz.

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Discover More

Within the radio and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum limited bandwidth is available, and in the United States the use of the spectrum is regulated and allocated by the FCC. (See VHF and UHF.)

Etymology

Origin of bandwidth

First recorded in 1925–30; band ² + width

Example Sentences

While it enables useful wavelength-dependent effects, it also causes chromatic aberrations that become more severe as bandwidth increases.

From Science Daily

A global frenzy to build AI data centres and develop the fast-evolving technology has sent orders for advanced high‑bandwidth memory microchips soaring.

From Barron's

The businesses operate like Airbnbs for network bandwidth, except the people whose devices are being rented out often don’t realize what is happening.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even though discovering this information probably stung, knowing your company has the bandwidth to offer higher salaries is a helpful and positive data point.

From MarketWatch

In a long-running debate, European telecom companies want "fair share" payments from tech giants like Netflix for the large amounts of bandwidth they use.

From Barron's