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Glite Dictionary
gigacycle

gigacycle

9.1
A unit for the number of times something repeats in one second equal to one billion
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɪɡəˌsaɪkəl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : gigaciclo
  • Scientists recorded electromagnetic waves oscillating at nearly three gigacycles per second.

Examples

  • The processor's speed is measured in gigacycles per second.

  • One gigacycle is equivalent to one gigahertz in frequency measurement.

  • The gigacycle is a standard unit in telecommunications.

  • Can you measure the frequency in gigacycles?

  • One gigacycle is equivalent to one billion cycles per second.

  • The frequency of this radio wave is measured at five gigacycles.

  • Engineers often use gigacycles when discussing the performance of high-speed processors.

Synonyms

GHz
vsgigacycle
  • Specialized
12 3.7

A unit that shows one billion cycles per second, used for computer processors and Wi-Fi

is the long name spelled out rather than the short symbol
gigahertz
vsgigacycle
  • Specialized
4 5.6

A unit for measuring how often something repeats, equal to one billion times each second

is the traditional name using cycle wording rather than the scientific name
Gc
vsgigacycle
  • Archaic
4 8.9

A symbol for one billion cycles per second, like gigahertz

is the spelled out term for the same quantity rather than the symbol
gigacycle per second
vsgigacycle
  • Archaic
4.9

A measure of cycles per second equal to one billion

is the shorter compact unit name used instead of the full phrase

Compounds

gigacycle per second
  • Archaic
4.9

A measure of cycles per second equal to one billion

Surface Forms

gigacycle singular
gigacycles plural

Morphology

gigacycle = cycle (transparent) = giga + cycle

The prefix 'giga-' clearly indicates a billion, making the meaning of 'gigacycle' as a billion cycles straightforward.

Etymology

Gigacycle is made of giga- and cycle: giga- means 'billion' (you know this from gigabyte) and cycle means 'a repeating turn' like in bicycle. So a gigacycle is 'a billion cycles' or a billion repeating events per second, which is why it equals one gigahertz.