waveform

noun wave·form \ ˈwāv-ˌfȯrm \

|Updated on: 1 Jul 2018

Definition of waveform

: a usually graphic representation of the shape of a wave that indicates its characteristics (such as frequency and amplitude) — called also waveshape

Recent Examples of waveform from the Web

These new sounds create a waveform that twists to a point like a screw — so the researchers called them tornillos, Spanish for screw.

— rachel becker, The Verge, "Why this volcano in Ecuador sounds like it’s breathing," 13 June 2018
University of Arizona professor of speech, language and hearing sciences Brad Story did a waveform analysis for Popular Science in an effort to explain the phenomenon.

— gil kaufman, Billboard, "Is it Yanny or Laurel? We Asked a Linguistics Expert to Put the Debate to Rest," 16 May 2018
The suit was equipped with an oxygen hose and emblazoned with the album's logo—a stylized globe bisected by a sawtooth waveform (WWW.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Towkio is officially Chicago’s highest rapper," 28 Feb. 2018
Consider, for instance, Cloud DX: This Canadian company uses AI technology to scrutinize the audio waveform of a human cough, which allows it to detect asthma, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and other lung diseases.

— jonathan kay, The Atlantic, "How Do You Regulate a Self-Improving Algorithm?," 25 Oct. 2017
Smith explains that the tank has been rigged with sensors that convert the eel’s higher-frequency pulses into sound, a flashing LED light and waveforms on a screen.

— natalie escobar, Smithsonian, "The Shocking World of Electric Fishes," 20 Oct. 2017
Looking at the waveform that registered on seismometers from Tin City to Ketchikan, Gardine noticed its squiggle signature did not look like an earthquake.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "North Korea’s nuclear bomb test lit up seismometers in Alaska," 9 Sep. 2017
Björk combines her cries of pain with the scrapes and bangs of waveform generators and dissonant string orchestrations.

— carl wilson, Slate Magazine, "Cry Me a River (of White Male Tears)," 28 Feb. 2017
Software and digital signal processors then use the car’s audio system to create countervailing waveforms that are broadcast over the speakers to block the original noise.

— john r. quain, New York Times, "Makers of Self-Driving Cars Ask What to Do With Human Nature JULY 7, 2016," 10 Nov. 2016

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