bandwidth

noun

band·​width ˈband-ˌwidth 

-ˌwitth

1

: a range within a band of wavelengths, frequencies, or energies

especially : a range of radio frequencies which is occupied by a modulated carrier wave, which is assigned to a service, or over which a device can operate

2

: the capacity for data transfer of an electronic communications system

Graphics consume more bandwidth than text does.

especially : the maximum data transfer rate of such a system

a bandwidth of 100 megabits per second

3

: the emotional or mental capacity necessary to do or consider something

I don't have the bandwidth to do it all myself, and I feel like a failure because I'm not living up to my own ideals.

—Frances Lefkowitz

Examples of bandwidth in a Sentence

The modem has a bandwidth of 56 kilobits per second.

Graphics use more bandwidth than text does.

Recent Examples on the Web

The technology helps address bandwidth, distance, and energy constraints in communications and computing infrastructure. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026

The line would emphasize memory bandwidth, which matters for fast, efficient AI inference. — ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026

Many of the above tests, namely Cinebench, Geekbench, and Photoshop, also depend on system memory capacity and speed, which works directly to the advantage of a 128GB system with 614GBps of memory bandwidth. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026

To do that, each astrocamera is equipped with a spectral filter whose bandwidth is so narrow—one nanometer—that the filter appears as a mirror. — IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bandwidth

noun

band·​width ˈband-ˌwidth 

1

: a range of frequencies

2

: the capacity for or rate of data transfer

a high bandwidth Internet connection