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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Signals and Analog Electronics

Waveform

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

/ˈweɪvˌfɔrm/nounCommon term

In electrical & electronics engineering, waveform means: The shape of a signal when its voltage or current is drawn against time, such as a sine, square, triangle or sawtooth wave.

In Turkish: dalga şekli

How it is used

Used whenever signals are measured or generated. Engineers capture, inspect, save and compare waveforms on an oscilloscope, and describe them as clean, noisy, distorted or clipped. A 'scope shot' is a saved picture of a waveform for a report.

Example sentences

  1. The output waveform should be a clean square wave, but there's ringing on the edges.

  2. Save the waveform and attach it to the test report.

Common collocations

  • square waveform
  • sine waveform
  • capture a waveform
  • distorted waveform
  • output waveform
  • oscilloscopeAn instrument that draws a voltage as a graph over time, so you can see the shape, size and timing of a signal. Engineers often just call it a scope.
  • frequencyThe number of times a signal repeats its cycle in one second, measured in hertz (Hz). Mains electricity in Turkey has a frequency of 50 Hz.
  • signalA voltage or current that carries information, such as a sensor reading, a sound or digital data. Signals can be analog, changing smoothly, or digital, switching between fixed levels.
  • RMSShort for root mean square: the effective value of an AC voltage or current, equal to the DC value that would deliver the same power. A mains voltage of 230 V is an RMS value.

More terms: Signals and Analog Electronics

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