Oxford Dictionary English

    frequency

    noun
    noun
    BrE BrE//ˈfriːkwənsi//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ˈfriːkwənsi//
    (pl. frequencies) Energy and physical forces, Radio technology
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  1. 1[uncountable, countable] the rate at which something happens or is repeated Fatal road accidents have decreased in frequency over recent years. a society with a high/low frequency (= happening often/not very often) of stable marriages The program can show us word frequency (= how often words occur in a language). Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegreat, increased, increasing, … verb + frequencydecrease in, increase in, decrease, … prepositionwith frequency See full entry
  2. 2[uncountable] the fact of something happening often the alarming frequency of computer errors Objects like this turn up at sales with surprising frequency. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegreat, increased, increasing, … verb + frequencydecrease in, increase in, decrease, … prepositionwith frequency See full entry
  3. 3[countable, uncountable] (specialist) the rate at which a sound or electromagnetic wave vibrates (= moves up and down) a high/low frequency Wordfinderphysicsamplitude, atom, energy, fission, force, frequency, gravity, molecule, nuclear, physics Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehigh, low, microwave, … frequency + nounrange, spectrum, band, … See full entry See related entries: Energy and physical forces
  4. 4[countable, uncountable] (specialist) the number of radio waves for every second of a radio signal a frequency band There are only a limited number of broadcasting frequencies. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehigh, low, microwave, … frequency + nounrange, spectrum, band, … See full entry See related entries: Radio technology
    5.  Word Originmid 16th cent. (gradually superseding late Middle English frequence; originally denoting a gathering of people): from Latin frequentia, from frequens, frequent- ‘crowded, frequent’.Extra examples Bullets bounced off the rock with alarming frequency. Crime increases in frequency in less settled neighbourhoods. The drug can reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. The relative frequency of this illness in the area is of concern to all doctors. These incidents have increased in frequency.
See frequency in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee frequency in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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