Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The distance between one peak of a wave to the next corresponding peak, or between any two adjacent corresponding points, defined as the speed of a wave divided by its frequency.
  • idiom (on the same wavelength) In complete accord; in harmony.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The length of a single cycle of a wave, as measured by the distance between one peak or trough of a wave and the next; it is often designated in physics as λ, and corresponds to the velocity of the wave divided by its frequency.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the distance (measured in the direction of propagation) between two points in the same phase in consecutive cycles of a wave
  • noun a shared orientation leading to mutual understanding

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

wave +‎ length

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Examples

  • He was on a wavelength with her, in a way that most human beings aren't on a ­wavelength with animals. "

    The Guardian World News 2010

  • Right now the cloak operates for light between 1,400 and 1,800 nanometers in wavelength, which is the near-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, just slightly longer than light that can be seen with the human eye.

    The Crimes of the Future | Heretical Ideas Magazine 2009

  • This extremely simple relationship can be considered as the completely adequate expression of Wien's energy distribution law; for with the dependence upon the energy, the dependence upon the wavelength is always directly given through the general, well-established displacement law by Wien.

    Max Planck - Nobel Lecture 1967

  • The ripple wavelength is not simply the speed of the wheel times the bounce frequency of the suspension, which seems to be a common belief.

    The washboard effect ewillett 2009

  • If appearing on a star spectrum of 486.3 mm - its wavelength is 486.1 … its radial velocity is .2/486.1 = (123.43)? do you multiply by 300,000? is it Approaching or receding?

    Mm Star | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • In the headlight example, the wavelength is that of visible light, and the optical system is your eye.

    First Stellar Images Nicole 2009

  • If the wavelength is getting shorter, or blue shifted, then the star is approaching.

    Mm Star | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • CO2 can only trap light at a certain wavelength and has exponentially decreasing returns for warming.

    Prevention of Global Warming: Understanding The Main Causes 2009

  • In the headlight example, the wavelength is that of visible light, and the optical system is your eye.

    Archive 2009-02-25 Nicole 2009

  • No one wavelength is preferentially absorbed or reflected, so snow is essentially the color of the sunlight reflecting off of it — white.

    Color me smart: 5 reasons why things are the color that they are 2008

Comments

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  • If there is chemistry between two people, they may be said to be on the same wavelength. See Free Association.

    February 8, 2008