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🔊 A high pitch 📻 A radio band
high frequency

high frequency

6 4.1
A sound made by very fast vibrations that we hear as high
  • noun
  • /haɪ ˈfrɛkənsi/
translation icon : alta frecuencia
  • Humans can't hear or produce sounds with such high frequencies, but our flying friend can.
  • high-frequency hearing
  • high-frequency hearing loss
  • high-frequency toneburst

It's basically it lets high frequencies pass through, but we call it a low cut.

Examples

  • It can separate out high frequency and low frequency sounds.

  • So a high frequency means a short wavelength and a large energy per photon.

  • You know how this is high frequency and this is low frequency.

  • Acute or chronic acoustic trauma may cause high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss.

    Academic text (2008)

  • After surgical removal of the bony neoplasm, the patient was noted to have a high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The technician tested the audio equipment by playing a high frequency sound to ensure clarity.

  • In music, high frequency sounds are often associated with bright tones like flutes or violins.

  • The research showed that high frequency vibrations can affect how we perceive different sounds.

Synonyms

high pitch
vshigh frequency
2 3.4

A thin, sharp sound at the top of a voice, like a mosquito buzz

is stated as a larger number of vibrations per second

Antonyms

low frequency
3 4.5

A sound or wave that has long waves and a low pitch

How High

ultrasonic
  • Specialized
10 6.4
high frequency
6 4.1
midrange
  • Specialized
5.3
infrasonic
  • Specialized
1 8.9

Surface Forms

high frequency singular
high frequencies plural

Morphology

high + frequency

The meaning is directly compositional: 'high' modifies 'frequency' to indicate a relatively large/rapid rate or a portion of the frequency spectrum, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the general sense. Although the precise technical range (3–30 MHz) is specialist knowledge, the basic idea of a 'high frequency' band is transparently derived from the constituents and is cross-linguistically predictable.

Etymology

High frequency comes from the words high and frequency: high means 'higher' and frequency means how often something happens. Imagine a dog whistle vibrating many times each second and making a thin sound, so 'high frequency' means 'a pitch with many vibrations per second'.