radio frequency

noun

: any of the electromagnetic wave frequencies that lie in the range extending from below 3 kilohertz to about 300 gigahertz and that include the frequencies used for communications signals (as for radio and television broadcasting and cell-phone and satellite transmissions) or radar signals

Examples of radio frequency in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That generation of Black Hawks typically has two types of altimeters — one relying on barometric pressure and the other on radio frequency signals bounced off the ground. —Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2025

That generation of Black Hawks typically has two types of altimeters -- one relying on barometric pressure and the other on radio frequency signals bounced off the ground. —Gary Fields and Tim Sullivan The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 15 Feb. 2025

National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman said at a news conference that the aircraft communicate using different radio frequency bands, and that this is not unusual. —NBC News, 2 Feb. 2025

During the spacewalk, Williams and Wilmore removed a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss before turning their attention to collecting samples of surface material from both the Destiny laboratory module and the Quest airlock, where crew members exit the station. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

radio frequency

noun

: any of the electromagnetic wave frequencies between about 3 kilohertz and 300 gigahertz that are used especially in radio and television transmission and in radar

Medical Definition

radio frequency

noun

: any of the electromagnetic wave frequencies that lie in a range extending from below 3 kilohertz to about 300 gigahertz and that include the frequencies used for communications signals (as for radio and television broadcasting and cell-phone transmissions) or radar signals

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

radio-frequency waves