fre ‧ quen ‧ cy /ˈfriːkwənsi/ BrE AmE noun ( plural frequencies )
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ frequent ; noun : ↑ frequency ≠ ↑ infrequency ; adverb : ↑ frequently ≠ ↑ infrequently ; adjective : ↑ frequent ≠ ↑ infrequent ]
1 . [uncountable] the number of times that something happens within a particular period of time or within a particular group of people
frequency of
the frequency of serious road accidents
the high/low frequency (of something)
the higher frequency of diabetes in older people
Side effects from prescribed drugs are being reported with increasing frequency (=more and more often) .
The relative frequency of fraternal twins has halved since 1950.
2 . [uncountable] the fact that something happens a lot SYN regularity :
Businesses come and go with alarming frequency.
3 . [uncountable and countable] technical the number of radio waves, sound waves etc that pass any point per second:
This station broadcasts on three different frequencies.
high/low frequency
Dolphins produce a high frequency sound.
the frequency range of the human ear