bandwidth

band·width | \ ˈband-ˌwidth

, -ˌwitth \

Definition of bandwidth

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 After all, when my list of things to do is super high but my bandwidth and energy are super low, the disparity between them can be demoralizing and incapacitating. — Anna Borges, SELF, "If You Need to Be Productive Right Now, ‘Done’ Lists Might Help," 16 Apr. 2020 Currently, Alaska has about 2.5 gigabits per second of satellite bandwidth across multiple broadband providers, according to Pacific Dataport. — Elwood Brehmer, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska satellite broadband project scuttled by coronavirus," 16 Apr. 2020 Most of my bandwidth on a regular workday is just about writing for the first chunk of the day and then the second chunk of the day is performing what was written. — Frank Pallotta, CNN, "Seth Meyers on what it's like to do 'Late Night' from his attic during a pandemic," 9 Apr. 2020 As the number of smartphones and the use of videoconferencing platforms like Zoom or streaming video increase, so does the use of bandwidth. — Amrita Khalid, Quartz, "America’s digital divide is even more urgent during the pandemic," 9 Apr. 2020 From the identification of non-essential staff, providing them with the appropriate assets, tools and technology to collaborate and guarantee staff productivity has taken up a lot of bandwidth for managers. — Mayank Jain, Quartz India, "You know what can help Indian businesses beat coronavirus? Bots," 8 Apr. 2020 So, too, will bills that might take up a lot of political bandwidth during a crisis. — Andrew Oxford, azcentral, "Questions hang over the budget, major bills as Arizona Legislature makes quick exit," 24 Mar. 2020 There are also technology setup challenges for new users as well as a shortage of bandwidth as the internet groans under the strain of increasing use. — Erin Brodwin, STAT, "Surge in patients overwhelms telehealth services amid coronavirus pandemic," 17 Mar. 2020 Alternatively, use the chart from the HDMI Forum showing resolutions and their approximate bandwidth. — Jon L. Jacobi, PCWorld, "HDMI vs. DisplayPort: Which display interface reigns supreme?," 13 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bandwidth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.