broadcast spectrum

broadcast spectrum — noun

1. the set of radio frequencies that governments set aside so that radio and televi

1.nounC1
Definition

the set of radio frequencies that governments set aside so that radio and television stations can send their signals through the air

Example

The new station had to wait a year for a slice of the broadcast spectrum.

a slice of the broadcast spectrum for a frequency allocation

Roya explained how the government sells parts of the broadcast spectrum to phone companies.

sell parts of the broadcast spectrum

Common collocations
  • part of the broadcast spectrum
  • allocate the broadcast spectrum
  • sell the broadcast spectrum
  • crowded broadcast spectrum
Synonyms
  • airwaves

    more everyday word for the same idea, common in news writing

  • frequency band

    narrower; names one specific range rather than the whole range set aside for broadcasting

  • radio spectrum

    wider; covers all radio frequencies, not only those given to broadcasting

Grammar Patterns

part of the broadcast spectrum

allocate the broadcast spectrum

use the broadcast spectrum

Usage Note

Almost always treated as uncountable and paired with 'the'. Subjects and objects around it tend to be governments, regulators, stations, or phone companies that share, sell, or are given a portion of these frequencies.

Common Mistakes

Each station owns a broadcast spectrum.
Each station owns a part of the broadcast spectrum.
there is one shared range, and a station only gets a piece of it.
The radio plays on a broadcast spectrums.
The radio plays on a frequency within the broadcast spectrum.
the phrase is uncountable, so it has no plural form.

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The phrase joins 'broadcast', first used in farming for scattering seed widely by hand and later borrowed for sending radio signals out in all directions, with 'spectrum', a Latin word for an image or appearance that science adopted for a full range of values. Together they name the band of radio frequencies spread out and shared for broadcasting.