Definition of "spectrum" []

• Physics The distribution of a characteristic of a physical system or phenomenon, especially: (noun)
• Physics The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, as by an incandescent body, arranged in order of wavelengths. (noun)
• Physics The distribution of atomic or subatomic particles in a system, as in a magnetically resolved molecular beam, arranged in order of masses. (noun)
• A graphic or photographic representation of such a distribution. (noun)
• A range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The Supreme Court has distinguished the regulation of radio spectrum from the regulation of printing presses, and applied more lenient scrutiny to the regulation of spectrum, based on its conclusion that the spectrum is unusually scarce."
• "But the carriers have adopted the phrase "spectrum crunch," designed to make vivid the pain of a hypothetical moment when there are more data than the available spectrum can handle."
• "Across the spectrum is a widespread feeling that Washington is broken almost beyond repair."