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bandwidth

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From band +‎ width.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbændwɪdθ/, /ˈbændwɪtθ/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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bandwidth (countable and uncountable, plural bandwidths)

  1. The width, usually measured in hertz, of a frequency band.
    • 2010 October 30, Jim Giles, “Jammed!”, in New Scientist:
      But now is a good time to be bargaining for bandwidth, as the switch from analogue to digital television is freeing up space.
  2. (of a signal) The width of the smallest frequency band within which the signal can fit.
  3. (networking, informal) The rate of data flow in digital networks typically measured in bits per second; the bitrate.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Communications: Administration Codex entry:
      While comm buoys allow rapid transmission, there is a finite amount of bandwidth available. Given that trillions of people may be trying to pass a message through a given buoy at any one time, access to the network is parceled out on priority tiers.
  4. (informal) The capacity, energy or time required.[1]
    I think it's a worthy project, but I just don't have the bandwidth right now.
    • 2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 44:
      Yet... rather than exploiting opportunities to their fullest, Perry uses with conviction the word "frustrated" to describe a typical approach to government with ideas: "You'll get the response 'we don't have the bandwidth to deal with that'."
    • 2024 November 14, Kateryna Stepanenko, Davit Gasparyan, Nicole Wolkov, Nate Trotter, William Runkel, Olivia Gibson, Grace Mappes, Frederick W. Kagan, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 14, 2024”, in Ukraine Project‎[2], The Institute for the Study of War, archived from the original on 5 March 2025:
      Kiriyenko's personal bandwidth to do so is likely limited, however, as he also oversees many of the Kremlin's internal machinations, including the veteran-focused "Time of Heroes" program.
  5. (graph theory) The minimum, over all orderings of vertices of a given graph, of the length of the longest edge.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Joe Miller (9 February 2018), “Are these the worst examples of business jargon?”, in BBC News‎[1], BBC, archived from the original on 25 August 2026
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