gamut

American  

[gam-uht] / ˈgæm ət /

noun

1. the entire scale or range.

   the gamut of dramatic emotion from grief to joy.

   Synonyms:

   extent, reach, scope, breadth, sweep

2. Music.

   1. the whole series of recognized musical notes.

   2. the major scale.

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gamut British  

/ ˈgæmət /

noun

1. entire range or scale, as of emotions

2. music

   1. a scale, esp (in medieval theory) one starting on the G on the bottom line of the bass staff

   2. the whole range of notes

3. physics the range of chromaticities that can be obtained by mixing three colours

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Etymology

Origin of gamut

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin; contraction of gamma ut, equivalent to gamma, used to represent the first or lowest tone (G) in the medieval scale + ut (later do ); the notes of the scale ( ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si ) being named from a Latin hymn to St. John the Baptist: Ut queant laxis re sonare fibris. Mi ra gestorum fa muli tuorum, Sol ve polluti la bii reatum, S ancte I ohannes

Example Sentences

Whatever the target demographic, all three companies are representative of the evolution of celebrity brands to include the full gamut of product categories and meet the needs of a changing marketplace.

From Los Angeles Times

These couples' reasons run the gamut from high child-rearing costs to career concerns.

From Barron's

AI videos run the gamut from the absurd - a cartoon of a cat working at McDonald's - to the hyper-realistic, like fake doorbell camera footage.

From BBC

"Basically you're deciding: 'Well look, I'm going to just run the gamut here and hope that these things don't go on fire.'"

From BBC

Scam centre staff run the "whole gamut", from expendable grunts held in slave-like conditions to skilled programmers working for high salaries, said veteran Myanmar expert David Scott Mathieson, a former Human Rights Watch monitor.

From Barron's

Related Words

• spectrum