megahertz

American  

[meg-uh-hurts] / ˈmɛg əˌhɜrts /

noun

Electricity.

megahertzes plural

1. a unit of frequency, equal to one million cycles per second. MHz

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megahertz British  

/ ˈmɛɡəˌhɜːts /

noun

1.  MHz.  Former name: megacycle.  one million hertz; one million cycles per second

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megahertz Scientific  

/ mĕg′ə-hûrts′ /

1. A unit of frequency equal to one million cycles per second, or one million hertz.

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megahertz Cultural  

1. One million cycles per second. Often used to indicate computer processing speed.

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Etymology

Origin of megahertz

First recorded in 1940–45; mega- + hertz

Example Sentences

It got access to those 20 megahertz of spectrum, which it badly needed to shore up its commercial network.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

“Particularly the 68 megahertz of global mobile satellite services L-Band spectrum…in an environment where Direct-to-Device constellations are garnering significant attention and investment,” he wrote.

From Barron's • Nov. 10, 2025

Central to this innovation is the ytterbium thin-disk laser, which produces high-power, femtosecond pulses at megahertz repetition rates.

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024

The National Telecommunications Information Administration will perform a two-year study on how to possibly repurpose 2,786 megahertz of spectrum, which could be used for wireless broadband, drones, and satellites.

From Washington Times • Nov. 13, 2023

A mere 386SX running at 20 megahertz and comparatively low resolution VGA color graphics.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Schwartau, Winn