spectrumspec‧trum /ˈspektrəm/ ●○○ noun (plural spectra /-trə/) [countable] 
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.2the set of bands of coloured light into which a beam of light separates when it is passed through a prism3a complete range of radio, sound etc waves: the electromagnetic spectrum
WORD ORIGINspectrum
Origin:
1800-1900 Latin ‘something that appears, image’, from specere ‘to look (at)’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- At one end of the spectrum were the Communists, and at the other, the Nationalists.
- People from across the religious spectrum are now working together.
- The spectrum of protest activity goes from peaceful to extremely violent.
- The announcement has upset people all across the political spectrum.
- Their songs appeal to a broad spectrum of music lovers.
- You can find therapists along the whole spectrum, from caring and honest to cool and manipulative.
- At the other end of the spectrum, the impact of child poverty on failing schools has never properly been addressed.
- 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.
- One way to look at Cleveland is to say it is at opposite ends of the political spectrum with San Francisco.
- This ensures that we can supply the complete spectrum of materials to all our customers in the building trade.
Longman Language Activatora set of different things of the same general type
a set of many different things of the same general type that are available in the same place for the same use: · She has an interesting range of hobbies, from stamp-collecting to astronomy.a wide/broad range of something: · Atkins is extremely well educated and able to talk on a broad range of topics.· It was difficult to choose from such a wide range of dishes on the menu.
a complete range of different types of things or people, especially when those at one end of the range are the opposite of those at the other end: spectrum of: · The spectrum of protest activity goes from peaceful to extremely violent.broad/wide/whole/entire spectrum: · Their songs appeal to a broad spectrum of music lovers.· You can find therapists along the whole spectrum, from caring and honest to cool and manipulative.at one end/the other end of the spectrum: · At one end of the spectrum were the Communists, and at the other, the Nationalists.political spectrum (=range of political opinions): · The announcement has upset people all across the political spectrum.
a number of different things of the same kind that are available for you to choose or use: · Customers are invited to view the selection at any time.selection of: · The library also has a selection of foreign language videos on the third floor.wide/broad selection: · The shop offers a wide selection of glasses frames to choose from.
a complete range of every possible emotion, problem, experience etc: gamut of: · "Fear" is a word that covers a gamut of different feelings.a/the whole gamut: · Alternative therapies have been successful with a whole gamut of health problems.· New mothers can experience the whole gamut of emotions, from intense joy to deep depression.run the gamut: · Lodgings run the gamut from rustic cabins to plush hotels.
WORD SETSdiffract, verbeyepiece, nounfocal point, nounfocus, verbmagnification, nounmirage, nounoptic, adjectiveoptical, adjectiveoptical illusion, nounoptics, nounprism, nounprismatic, adjectivereflection, nounreflective, adjectivespectrum, nounultraviolet, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a broad spectrum of environmental groups The two articles here represent opposite ends of the spectrum.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES two parties at opposite ends of the political spectrumCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
1a complete range of opinions, people, situations etc, going from one extreme to its oppositespectrum of a broad spectrum of environmental groups The two articles here represent opposite ends of the spectrum. (=range)· Among the public there is a broad spectrum of opinion.
(=different waves of energy, including light, heat, radio waves, and x-rays)
two parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum· The continuous spectrum of the last diagram indicates that periodic fluctuations have been replaced by chaotic ones.· A monochromator is a device for selecting a narrow band of wavelengths from a continuous spectrum.· Thus it emerges that a pulse is equivalent to a continuous frequency spectrum of sinusoidal signals.
· This range of wavelengths - from billionths of metres to kilometres - is called the electromagnetic spectrum, or simply the spectrum.· For emissions testing, most standards split the electromagnetic spectrum into two parts.· The whole range of radiation is called the electromagnetic spectrum.· As we have seen, flying insects are often particularly sensitive to the electromagnetic spectrum.· Some use the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
· We shall see, however, that electronic spectra rarely give us direct information about molecular structures.· For example, the striking color of Prussian Blue is an indication that electronic spectra may have unusual features.· This is one sign of the richness of the electronic spectra of compounds containing transition metal centers.
· This is an extraordinary situation, perhaps unique in the entire spectrum of modern historical research.· Hard stony meteorites span the entire spectrum of strengths between these extremes, and they will be selected accordingly.· We offer you the entire spectrum of literature.· The problems arise when these are reified as essential attributes of an entire spectrum of cultural form.
· With a staff of 13, the centre encompasses the full spectrum of specialist skills.· Though Ryan draws her colors from the full color spectrum, the individual hues are subdued.· Central News provides a wide selection of news stories covering the full spectrum of events - unusual and everyday - in Britain.· The nationalization of the electricity sector followed 22 years later, bringing the full energy spectrum under state control.· These needs range across the full spectrum: from primary and secondary school to sixth form college and colleges of higher education.
· Policy choices will always be made within a relatively narrow spectrum of possible options.· Some features are meaningful for a wide variety of inputs; others apply only to a narrow spectrum.· Metronidazole is a narrow spectrum antibiotic with activity against primarily anaerobic organisms, particularly bacteria and protozoa.· Until the early 1960s these beliefs were not seriously tested and differences of theory appear as shades of a fairly narrow spectrum.
· The proposals were met with opposition from across the political spectrum.· She was credited with moving the Democratic Party closer to the center of the political spectrum.· They ranged across the political spectrum from rightwing conservatives to left-wing socialists.· Others from across the political spectrum also criticized the discussions, including Yossi Sarid, the leader of the leftist Meretz Party.· The libertarian view A third view of the revolution has been developed by writers on the far Left of the political spectrum.· This anti-parliamentarianism can come in three forms, from all sides of the political spectrum.· At the other end of the political spectrum, some left-leaning think tanks take money from interested parties.
· It's happening to more and more people and right across the social spectrum.· The drama was popular with the complete social spectrum.· By the mid-nineteenth century it had already extended across the whole social spectrum.
· It is also possible to record vibrational spectra of solid samples under high and varying pressure.· Such structural changes are of course accompanied by changes in vibrational spectra.
· The electronic bands in the visible spectrum are derived from d-d transitions.
· The whole spectrum of the Anglo-Norman upper classes is included in this single family group.· The people you manage tend to be a whole spectrum.· To achieve this they concentrated on the whole spectrum of damaging events in an area and explored their aggregate impact.· Prevention needs to engage the whole spectrum of activities and behaviors that led to epidemic transmission in the first place.· I aim to represent the whole spectrum.· They represent a haphazard seizing of opportunities rather than rational provision of a network to meet the whole spectrum of walkers' needs.· In fact the whole spectrum of undercover policing, including the activities of MI5, is a legal vacuum.· Intra-group connections then, cover the whole spectrum from the source of raw material right through to consumer purchases.
· Aitken's work covered a wide spectrum of physical science, and he had some ninety-eight contributions published in scientific literature.· Symptomatic coccidioidomycosis has a wide clinical spectrum, ranging from mild influenza-like illness to serious pulmonary disease to widespread dissemination.· Certainly, moths duck and weave in their escape attempts, for which their excellent wide spectrum sight is clearly advantageous.· The idea is to make WebSuite accessible to the widest possible spectrum of Web customers.· My daily Radio Column covered a wide spectrum of programme interests, a large part of which was concerned with local broadcasts.· His campaign never caught on with a wide spectrum of the electorate.· Never before has such a wide spectrum of organisations made such a call.· His benign middle-class credentials were supposed to attract a wide spectrum of supporters, but he was merely a figurehead.
NOUN· In the past, much of the work with flowing gases used photographic recording of electronic emission or absorption spectra.· As a result the X-ray absorption spectrum contains a precise signature of the atomic environment of a particular element.
· The nationalization of the electricity sector followed 22 years later, bringing the full energy spectrum under state control.
· As well as the frequency spectrum, one can define wave number spectra - Fourier transforms of the space correlations.· Thus it emerges that a pulse is equivalent to a continuous frequency spectrum of sinusoidal signals.· Defence now takes up half the frequency spectrum, with broadcasting and telecommunications using a large slice.
· This is more of a possibility in IR spectra.· This vibration is therefore inactive in the IR spectrum.· The IR spectra are consistent with it being.
· The Detailed Spectrum Investigation process is intended to ensure that everyone should derive maximum benefit from the limited radio spectrum resource.· They operate in the same frequency range of the radio spectrum as analog cellular -- around 800 megahertz.
· Typical arrangements for recording Raman spectra of liquids, solids and gases are shown in Fig. 5.12.· Problems arise in recording Raman spectra of fluorescent samples, as the fluorescence is often much more intense than the Raman signal.· In Raman spectra, these are usually much weaker than fundamentals.· Analogous distinctions between band envelopes may be made for Raman spectra of gaseous asymmetric tops, but they are not commonly used.
VERB· These three books cover that same spectrum while discussing widely disparate topics.· The smaller one's units of analysis the more of them are needed to cover the spectrum of interest.· The music covers a wide spectrum, from rock to jazz, from ballad to uptempo.· Intra-group connections then, cover the whole spectrum from the source of raw material right through to consumer purchases.· These approaches cover a wide spectrum.· Central News provides a wide selection of news stories covering the full spectrum of events - unusual and everyday - in Britain.
· Oxidative charge-transfer processes are observed in the spectra of complexes of low oxidation state metals with organic amines, such as.· At such points we can observe the spectrum of the unstable product together with that of any stable products, carrier materials and so on.
· It is also possible to record vibrational spectra of solid samples under high and varying pressure.· Thus even here we may want to reduce the total time required to record the spectrum.· It may therefore be necessary to record both spectra to check for modes inactive in one but active in the other.
· I aim to represent the whole spectrum.
· Transend are continually looking for shareware that spans a wide spectrum.· Hard stony meteorites span the entire spectrum of strengths between these extremes, and they will be selected accordingly.· Opposition to most-favored-nation status spans the political spectrum.
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.2the set of bands of coloured light into which a beam of light separates when it is passed through a prism3a complete range of radio, sound etc waves: the electromagnetic spectrum