- The definition of frequency is how often something happens.
An example of frequency is a person blinking their eyes 47 times in one minute.
- Obsolete
- the condition of being crowded
- a crowd
- the fact of occurring often or repeatedly; frequent occurrence
- the number of times any action or occurrence is repeated in a given period
- Math., Statistics
- the number of times an event, value, or characteristic occurs in a given period
- the ratio of the number of times a characteristic occurs to the number of trials in which it can potentially occur
- Physics the number of periodic oscillations, vibrations, or waves per unit of time: usually expressed in hertz: abbrev. f
Origin: Middle English ; from French ; from Classical Latin frequentia ; from frequens: see frequent
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
noun pl. fre·quen·cies
- The property or condition of occurring at frequent intervals.
- Mathematics & Physics The number of times a specified periodic phenomenon occurs within a specified interval, as:a. The number of repetitions of a complete sequence of values of a periodic function per unit variation of an independent variable.b. The number of complete cycles of a periodic process occurring per unit time.c. The number of repetitions per unit time of a complete waveform, as of an electric current.
- Statistics a. The number of measurements in an interval of a frequency distribution.b. The ratio of the number of times an event occurs in a series of trials of a chance experiment to the number of trials of the experiment performed.
Origin: Latin frequentia, multitude, from frequēns, frequent-, crowded, numerous, frequent.
frequency - Computer Definition
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines frequency as the number of complete cycles of sinusoidal variation per unit time, with the unit of time generally being that of one second. Plotting y = sin x, where x is expressed in radians, yields a sine wave as illustrated in Figure F-8. (From the Latin radius, a radian is a unit of plane angular measurement equivalent to the angle between two radii that enclose a section of a circle's circumference [arc] equal in length to the length of a radius.There are 2 radians in a circle.) A complete sine wave entails a cycle as measured from a point of zero (0) amplitude to a point of maximum positive amplitude (+A), through zero to a point of maximum negative amplitude (
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The number of oscillations (vibrations) in one second. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz), which is the same as "oscillations per second" or "cycles per second." For example, the alternating current in a wall outlet in the U.S. and Canada is 60Hz. Electromagnetic radiation is measured in kiloHertz (kHz), megahertz (MHz) and gigahertz (GHz). See wavelength, frequency response, audio, carrier and space/time.
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frequency - Cultural Definition
In physics, the number of crests of a wave that move past a given point in a given unit of time. The most common unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz), corresponding to one crest per second. The frequency of a wave can be calculated by dividing the speed of the wave by the wavelength. Thus, in the electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelengths decrease as the frequencies increase, and vice versa.
frequency - Science Definition
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