bandwidth
BAND-width
/ˈbændwɪdθ/
The maximum capacity of a network connection to transmit data in a given amount of time; informally, one's mental capacity or time availability.
Bandwidth measures capacity (how wide the pipe is), not speed (how fast a single packet moves).
The story behind the word. Originally an electrical engineering term from the 1920s, bandwidth referred to the physical width or frequency range of a radio signal band measured in Hertz. By the late 20th century, computer scientists adopted it to measure digital data transfer capacity, before popular culture adapted it to mean mental capacity.
Word relationships
- capacity: Capacity applies broadly to volume in physical or operational contexts, whereas bandwidth specifically measures data transfer rates or human cognitive availability.
Commonly confused with
- latency: Bandwidth is how much data can travel at once; latency is how fast that data arrives.
Collocations
- high bandwidth
- consume bandwidth
- limited bandwidth
- mental bandwidth
Idioms & expressions
- have the bandwidth
- lack bandwidth
Example sentences
- "High bandwidth alone does not guarantee low latency." Technical Infrastructure (Computer Networks (Andrew S. Tanenbaum))
- "I don't have the mental bandwidth to take on another project this week." Professional Metaphor
Memory hook
Bandwidth is the width of a highway band; more lanes allow more cars (data) to pass simultaneously. Width of the data pipe.
When not to use
Avoid using bandwidth when referring purely to delay or lag time; use latency for travel time.
Fun facts
- In modern workplace slang, 'I lack bandwidth' is one of the most widely used metaphors borrowed directly from computer networking.
Explore more words
throughput, bottleneck, latency, Memory, streaming, interval
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