hertz

[ hurts ]

/ hɜrts /

noun, plural hertz, hertz·es.

the standard unit of frequency in the International System of Units(SI), equal to one cycle per second. Abbreviation: Hz

Nearby words

hertfordshire, herto man, hertogenbosch, hertogenbosch, 's, herts, hertz, hertz effect, hertzian wave, hertzog, hertzsprung, hertzsprung-russell diagram

Origin of hertz

First recorded in 1925–30; named after H. R. Hertz

Definition for hertz (2 of 2)

Hertz

[ hurts, hairts; German herts ]

/ hɜrts, hɛərts; German hɛrts /

noun

Gu·stav

[goo s-tahf] /ˈgʊs tɑf/, 1887–1975, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1925.

Hein·rich Ru·dolph

[hahyn-rikh roo-dawlf] /ˈhaɪn rɪx ˈru dɔlf/, 1857–94, German physicist.

Related forms

Hertz·i·an

[hurt-see-uh n, hairt-] /ˈhɜrt si ən, ˈhɛərt-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hertz

There is a pro version that costs $49 per year and comes with Hertz Gold and Regus membership.
The Best Travel Apps for Road Warriors|Matthew Kepnes|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Under a lowering sky, the entourage crowds into two Hertz station wagons for the sixty mile drive to Las Cruces.
Stacks: Hitting the Note with the Allman Brothers Band|Grover Lewis|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Microsoft-Yahoo becomes a genuine Pepsi to Google's Coke, Burger King to their McDonalds, Avis to their Hertz.
Microsoft's Prison Yard Conquest|Douglas Rushkoff|July 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In like manner Hertz was led to the discovery of the electro-magnetic waves.
The Law and the Word|Thomas Troward

It was in 1888 that Hertz made this discovery of a way to detect long electric waves.
Marvels of Scientific Invention|Thomas W. Corbin
Dr. Hertz recently reported one not only with its stomach full of food, but with its mouth full, too.
Illogical Geology|George McCready Price
We may say that the transmitting aerial, the receiving aerial and the earth form one gigantic Hertz oscillator.
Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy|John Ambrose Fleming
Its success was overwhelming; but Hertz preserved his anonymity, and the secret was not known until many years later.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for hertz (1 of 2)

hertz

/ (hɜːts) /

noun plural hertz

the derived SI unit of frequency; the frequency of a periodic phenomenon that has a periodic time of 1 second; 1 cycle per secondSymbol: Hz

Word Origin for hertz

C20: named after Heinrich Rudolph Hertz

British Dictionary definitions for hertz (2 of 2)

Hertz

/ (hɜːts, German hɛrts) /

noun

Gustav (ˈɡʊstaf). 1887–1975, German atomic physicist. He provided evidence for the quantum theory by his research with Franck on the effects produced by bombarding atoms with electrons: they shared the Nobel prize for physics (1925)

Heinrich Rudolph (ˈhainrɪç ˈruːdɔlf). 1857–94, German physicist. He was the first to produce electromagnetic waves artificially

Derived Forms

Hertzian, adjective

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

Medicine definitions for hertz

hertz

[ hûrts ]

n. pl. hertz

A unit of frequency equal to 1 cycle per second.

Science definitions for hertz

hertz

[ hûrts ]

The SI derived unit used to measure the frequency of vibrations and waves, such as sound waves and electromagnetic waves. One hertz is equal to one cycle per second. The hertz is named after German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894).

Culture definitions for hertz

hertz

[ (hurts) ]

The international unit of frequency: one cycle per second. The abbreviation for hertz is Hz.

Note

Household current (see also current) in the United States is sixty hertz.