shortwave

noun, often attributive short·wave \ ˈshȯrt-ˌwāv \

Definition of shortwave

1 :a radio wave having a wavelength between 10 and 100 meters

2 :a radio transmitter or receiver using shortwaves

3 :electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength equal to or less than that of visible light

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Recent Examples of shortwave from the Web

A shortwave of high pressure moves across the metro area by Saturday warming temperatures back up into the mid-to-upper 80s.

— rosemarie stein, OregonLive.com, "Portland Metro Thursday Weather: Another warm day with few morning clouds and light winds; high of 87," 6 July 2017
The National Weather Service sees a ridge of relatively high atmospheric pressure aloft developing over our area for Monday pushing out a departing shortwave.

— rosemarie stein, OregonLive.com, "Portland Metro Monday Weather: Cool start to a mostly sunny day with warming temperatures," 5 June 2017
The next shortwave bringing clouds and shower chances arrives Wednesday evening.

— rosemarie stein, OregonLive.com, "Portland Metro Tuesday Weather: Back to spring with cooler temps and chances for rain," 30 May 2017
The suspects were found with a series of items, including lockpicks, $100 bills with the serial numbers in sequence and a shortwave receiver that could pick up police calls, the Washington Post reported.

— faith karimi, CNN, "Watergate scandal: Looking back at the crisis that changed American politics," 17 May 2017
As a heavy rain-producing cold front moves off to the east Thursday, the upper-air shortwave low-pressure impulse expected to trigger our next round of heavy rains will ripple southeast along the West Coast.

— tom skilling, chicagotribune.com, "Wet soils, localized flooding and rising rivers expected next few days," 26 Apr. 2017
What the Chief said over the next six minutes or so was something that Nazi troops listening to their shortwave radios had never heard before.

— marc wortman, Smithsonian, "The Fake British Radio Show That Helped Defeat the Nazis," 28 Feb. 2017
As the 36 year old Tash tells it, his father Rick landed himself on a government watch list when Rick was a thirteen year-old into ham and shortwave radio.

— ryan singel, WIRED, "Hoover-Era Spying on Father Motivated Anti-Wiretapping Plaintiff," 12 Mar. 2008

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

First Known Use of shortwave

1907

SHORTWAVE Defined for English Language Learners

shortwave

noun

Definition of shortwave for English Language Learners

: a radio wave with a wavelength between 10 and 100 meters
: a radio or receiver that uses shortwaves

Medical Dictionary

shortwave

noun short·wave \ ˈshȯrt-ˈwāv \

medical Definition of shortwave

1 :a radio wave having a wavelength between 10 and 100 meters

2 :electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength equal to or less than that of visible light

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See words that rhyme with shortwave Nglish: Translation of shortwave for Spanish speakers

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