bandwidth

IPA/ˈbændwɪdθ/
KK[bˈændwɪdθ]IPA/ˈbændwɪdθ/

bandwidth — noun

  • bandwidthsingular
  • bandwidthsplural

1. how much digital data a computer network, internet connection, or phone line can

1.nounB2
Definition

how much digital data a computer network, internet connection, or phone line can carry from one place to another in a given second.

Example

Vesna's home internet has enough bandwidth to stream three movies at the same time.

subject + has + enough/high/low bandwidth

The office Wi-Fi slowed down because too many laptops were sharing the same bandwidth.

sharing/limited bandwidth in shared networks

Common collocations
  • high bandwidth
  • low bandwidth
  • limited bandwidth
  • share bandwidth
  • use up bandwidth
Synonyms
  • throughput

    more technical; the actual rate achieved, not the maximum the line allows

  • data capacity

    broader; covers storage as well as transfer

Grammar Patterns

high/low + bandwidth

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable. Often paired with adjectives like 'high', 'low', 'limited', 'enough', or with a measurement (e.g. '100 megabits of bandwidth').

Common Mistakes

My laptop has a fast bandwidth.
My laptop has high bandwidth.
describe the size of the pipe with 'high/low', not 'fast/slow'.

2. the time, energy, or focus a person has left for taking on extra tasks, problems

2.nounC1
Definition

the time, energy, or focus a person has left for taking on extra tasks, problems, or feelings — used as a casual way to talk about personal limits.

Example

Sorry, I don't have the bandwidth to plan another fundraiser this month.

have (the) bandwidth + to-infinitive

After finals week, Eitan had no emotional bandwidth left for family arguments.

emotional / mental + bandwidth

Common collocations
  • have the bandwidth
  • lack bandwidth
  • emotional bandwidth
  • mental bandwidth
Synonyms
  • capacity

    more neutral; works in formal writing where 'bandwidth' may sound too casual

  • headspace

    informal; focuses on mental room rather than time

Grammar Patterns

have + (the) bandwidth + to-infinitive

Usage Note

Common in workplace and self-care contexts. Distinguish from sense 1 (computing): here the subject is a person or team, and the object of effort is a task or feeling, not data.

Common Mistakes

I am no bandwidth today.
I don't have the bandwidth today.
bandwidth is a thing you have or lack, not something you are.

3. the whole stretch of frequencies a signal or device occupies — described as a ra

3.nounC2
Definition

the whole stretch of frequencies a signal or device occupies — described as a range with a lower and upper limit, named so engineers know where on the dial it lives.

Example

Each radio station is given a small bandwidth so signals do not overlap.

given / assigned + bandwidth

Engineers at JAXA measured the bandwidth of the satellite link before the rocket launch.

measure the bandwidth of + system

Common collocations
  • wide bandwidth
  • narrow bandwidth
  • allocate bandwidth
  • bandwidth of [number] Hz
Synonyms
  • frequency range

    plainer everyday phrase for the same idea

  • spectrum

    broader; can refer to all possible frequencies, not just the slice in use

Usage Note

Technical sense used in physics and telecommunications. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense names which slice of the spectrum is in use (defined by its lower and upper edges); sense 4 names a single number — how many Hz the slice measures across.

4. in radio, a single number that says how wide one waveband is — the gap in hertz

4.nounC2
Definition

in radio, a single number that says how wide one waveband is — the gap in hertz between its lowest and highest frequencies.

Example

An FM channel usually has a bandwidth of two hundred kilohertz.

bandwidth of + numeric value (channel width)

Older television channels had a bandwidth of six megahertz in the United States.

Common collocations
  • channel bandwidth
  • bandwidth of a waveband
Synonyms

Usage Note

Mostly seen in broadcasting and radio engineering writing. The number-with-units shape ('a bandwidth of X kHz') is the giveaway for this sense. Sense 3 names the range itself (the slice of spectrum); sense 4 reduces that slice to a single width measurement.

Word family

  • broadband
    nounB1
  • wideband
    adjectiveC2
  • narrowband
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words all show up when people talk about internet performance, but they measure different things. 'Bandwidth' is the maximum size of the pipe — how much data could move per second if conditions were perfect. 'Throughput' is what actually gets through after losses, congestion, and overhead, so it is always equal to or smaller than the bandwidth. 'Speed' is the everyday word people use, but in adverts it usually means bandwidth in disguise (e.g. '300 Mbps speed'). 'Data cap' is something different again — a monthly ceiling on the total volume you may use, not a per-second rate. So a home plan can have high bandwidth, decent throughput, advertised speed of 300 Mbps, and still hit a 1 TB data cap by the end of the month.

bandwidth ↗throughput ↗speed ↗data cap

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bandwidth limit
  • bandwidth usage
  • bandwidth allocation
  • network bandwidth

Phrases

  • increase bandwidth
  • save bandwidth
  • use up bandwidth
  • run out of bandwidth

Prepositions

  • bandwidth of
  • bandwidth for
  • bandwidth between

Etymology

Old English (band, width)Modern English (technical compound)

Formed in English in the early 1900s by joining 'band' (a strip or range, here a slice of radio frequencies) with 'width' (how wide something is). It first described the spread of frequencies a radio signal occupies. As digital networks grew from the 1960s onward, engineers borrowed the same word for the data-carrying capacity of a wire or wireless link. The figurative human sense — having mental room for more tasks — appeared in business English in the 1990s.