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# spectrum

«spectrum» in Mova's school dictionary: **the band of colours that white light splits into, as in a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a spectrum, spectra or spectrums)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The spectrum is the band of colours that white light splits into, as in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#m1)

2) A whole range of different but related things, from one end to another. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#m2)

3) The autism spectrum: autistic people are said to be "on the spectrum". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Used in science lessons about light: a prism splits white light into a spectrum. In everyday talk: "a wide spectrum of opinions". In lessons about difference and respect: autism is a spectrum, so every autistic person is different.

### examples

- A prism splits white light into a spectrum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x1)
- The rainbow shows the colours of the spectrum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x2)
- Red is at one end of the spectrum and violet at the other. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x3)
- Our class has a wide spectrum of interests. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x4)
- My cousin is on the autism spectrum. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x5)
- Sound also has a spectrum of high and low pitches. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/#x6)

### note

Plural: spectra (science) or spectrums. Remember the colour order with "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain" or "ROY G BIV". Adjective: spectral.

### In the corpora

- [Sunscreen of SPF 30 or more, broad-spectrum, goes on about 20 minutes before going out in summer sun.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/210-first-aid-medicine-and-sun/14/)
- [Splitting starlight into a rainbow, called a spectrum, shows dark lines that reveal which elements the star is made of.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «spectrum» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spectrum/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.