radio wave

noun

, Electricity.

1. an electromagnetic wave having a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 30,000 meters, or a frequency between 10 kilohertz and 300,000 megahertz.

radio wave

noun

1. an electromagnetic wave of radio frequency

radio wave

1. A very low frequency electromagnetic wave (from roughly 30 kilohertz to 100 gigahertz). Radio waves are used for the transmission of radio and television signals; the microwaves used in radar and microwave ovens are also radio waves. Many celestial objects, such as pulsars, emit radio waves.
2. See more at electromagnetic spectrum

Word History and Origins

Origin of radio wave¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Depending on its dimensions, the cylinder will ring with radio waves of a specific frequency, just as a bottle will whistle with sound waves of a set pitch if you blow across its mouth.

From Science Magazine

This well-known fringe pattern phenomenon is caused by consistent constructive interference but has different characteristics when radio waves propagate around a neutron star.

From Science Daily

This will slowly come into view as the probe uses penetrating radio waves to peer beneath the icy crust — much like an X-ray machine.

From Los Angeles Times

Light that reaches our telescopes ranges in wavelength from long radio waves to energetic gamma rays.

From Salon

The findings could make scientists reconsider their decades-old understanding of neutron stars or white dwarfs; how they emit radio waves and what their populations are like in our Milky Way galaxy.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• microwave