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• hertz
  hertz

  noun

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

  noun

  Gustav 1887–1975, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1925.

hertz

¹ American  

[hurts] / hɜrts /

noun

• hertz,
  plural
• hertzes
  plural

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

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Hertz ² American  

[hurts, hairts, herts] / hɜrts, hɛərts, hɛrts /

noun

1. Gustav 1887–1975, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1925.

2. Heinrich Rudolph 1857–94, German physicist.

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hertz ¹ British  

/ hɜːts /

noun

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

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Hertz ² British  

/ hɛrts, hɜːts /

noun

1. 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)

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

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hertz Scientific  

/ hûrts /

1. 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).

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hertz Cultural  

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

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Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Hertzian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hertz
  plural
• hertzes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hertz

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hertz Hertz

But this one had a special addition of LED lights and ‘chakra-aligning’ gemstones that Vargas claimed pulsed at 4 hertz — a frequency she said that’s meant to help the immune system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

“Is it true?” one asks Hernandez as she tells them about the 528 hertz sound frequency her father asked her to play while he was dying in the hospital.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025

Hangzhou-based Geely says it has solved that problem in its Galaxy E8 electric sedan, which vibrates at 1.25 hertz — the same as a human heartbeat — when the car is driving on undulating terrain.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 18, 2024

Previous research shows that "concert tremor" can be recorded as long-duration signals with narrowband, harmonic frequency peaks between 1 and 10 hertz.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

They measure it in hertz, which is how many peaks go by per second.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Jackson, 57 years old, has been AutoZone’s chief financial officer since January 2021 and also served stints as finance chief of rental company Hertz Global Holdings and information, data and measurement company Nielsen Holdings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

They were supplied to the army by Hertz Norge, which is indirectly owned by the Chinese auto group Geely.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The team played three groups of low-frequency sounds, covering 100 to 200 Hertz, 200 to 400 Hertz, and 400 to 800 Hertz.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Hertz, who argued the sheriff’s case after Riverside’s county counsel largely sided with the plaintiffs, said Bianco simply exercised his legal discretion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Nowadays we are able to fix pitch using an electronic, measurement, Hertz, which gives each pitch a numerical value, though we have stuck with the alphabetical names for ease of use.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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