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Glite Dictionary
sound spectrum

sound spectrum

6.7
The loudness of the high and low parts of a sound, for example a violin or flute
  • noun
  • /saʊnd ˈspɛktrəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : espectro sonoro
  • Engineers create visual representations of the sound spectrum to better understand the characteristics of different sound sources.

So it can manifest itself within the color spectrum or within the sound spectrum or the spectrum of energy movements or the spectrum of numbers.

Examples

  • The scientist analyzed the sound spectrum to identify the frequency components of the recorded noise.

  • The sound spectrum will contain coefficients for the negative and positive frequencies that are perfectly symmetric.

    Academic text (2011)

  • So it can manifest itself within the color spectrum or within the sound spectrum or the spectrum of energy movements or the spectrum of numbers.

    André Duqum

  • In music production, adjusting the sound spectrum helps achieve a balanced mix of various instruments.

Synonyms

acoustic spectrum
vssound spectrum
  • Specialized
7.2

The range of high and low sounds a source makes, like a voice or instrument

uses intensity wording and the technical phrase as a function of frequency

How Broad

white noise
  • Specialized
10 3.9
sound spectrum
  • Specialized
6.7
broadband
  • Specialized
3.9
band
  • Specialized
66 4.8
pure tone
  • Specialized
1 5.8

Surface Forms

sound spectrum singular
sound spectrums plural

Morphology

sound + spectrum

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'sound' (an auditory phenomenon) combined with 'spectrum' (an ordered range or distribution) yields the idea of how sound is distributed across frequencies. Although the precise technical details (intensity as a function of frequency) require specialized knowledge, a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the general meaning, so it is transparent.

Etymology

Sound spectrum comes from comparing sound to a rainbow: a spectrum is a 'range' of colours. So a sound spectrum shows the different 'frequencies', or high and low tones, and how strong each one is.