From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspectrumspec‧trum /ˈspektrəm/ ●○○ noun (plural spectra /-trə/) [countable] 1 VARIOUS/OF DIFFERENT KINDSa complete range of opinions, people, situations etc, going from one extreme to its oppositespectrum of the ethnic spectrum of Americaacross the spectrum The bill drew support from across the political spectrum.broad/wide/full etc spectrum a broad spectrum of environmental groups The two articles here represent opposite ends of the spectrum.2 HPthe set of bands of coloured light into which a beam of light separates when it is passed through a prism3 HPTCa complete range of radio, sound etc waves the electromagnetic spectrum
Examples from the Corpus
spectrum• He said that the court was faced with a spectrum of possibilities.• Hundreds of asteroid spectra have been compared with laboratory reflection spectra of meteorites and pure mineral samples.• Their songs appeal to a broad spectrum of music lovers.• This ensures that we can supply the complete spectrum of materials to all our customers in the building trade.• The announcement has upset people all across the political spectrum.• One way to look at Cleveland is to say it is at opposite ends of the political spectrum with San Francisco.• People from across the religious spectrum are now working together.• At one end of the spectrum were the Communists, and at the other, the Nationalists.• At the other end of the spectrum, the impact of child poverty on failing schools has never properly been addressed.• The spectrum of protest activity goes from peaceful to extremely violent.• You can find therapists along the whole spectrum, from caring and honest to cool and manipulative.opposite ends of the spectrum• Lonnie and Alfred occupied opposite ends of the spectrum.• To demonstrate the diverse nature of the subject, two articles are included here which represent opposite ends of the spectrum.Origin spectrum (1800-1900) Latin “something that appears, image”, from specere “to look (at)” 