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

At the same time, Micron has shifted a larger portion of its business toward high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, in recent years. — CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026

The plan includes 16GB of NVMe SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026

Other emotional stumbling blocks include a lack of bandwidth for any more bad news. — Elissa Strauss, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026

That kind of memory and bandwidth is of course useful for other things, like gaming and other 3D graphics applications, but local inference is a growing use case, particularly for software developers. — Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 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