noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkæ.ɹɪ.ə weɪv/
General-American:/ˈkæ.ɹɪ.ɚ weɪv/
General-American:/ˈkɛ-/
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A wave that can be modulated, either in amplitude, frequency, or phase, to carry or transmit images, music, speech, or other signals.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: solitary wave, wave of translation, soliton
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a radio wave that can be modulated in order to transmit a signal
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: carrier
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: radio wave, radio emission, radio radiation
History
Etymology
From carrier + wave. Sense 2 (“soliton”) was coined by the Scottish civil engineer, naval architect, and shipbuilder John Scott Russell (1808–1882): see the quotations.
Across languages
Translations
36 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
موجة حاملة
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Catalan:
ona portadora
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Chinese Mandarin:
載波 /载波
(zàibō)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Czech:
nosná vlna
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Czech:
nosný signál
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Danish:
bærebølge
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Dutch:
draaggolf
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Esperanto:
portondo
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Estonian:
kandelaine
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Finnish:
kantoaalto
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
French:
porteuse
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
German:
Trägerwelle
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Greek:
φέρον σήμα
(féron síma)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Haitian Creole:
onn pòtez
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Hebrew:
גל נושא
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Icelandic:
burðarbylgja
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Indonesian:
gelombang pembawa
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Italian:
onda portante
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Japanese:
搬送波
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Korean:
반송파
(bansongpa)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Norwegian Bokmål:
bærebølge
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Norwegian Nynorsk:
berebølgje
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Norwegian Nynorsk:
berebylgje
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Persian:
موج حامل
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Polish:
częstotliwość nośna
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Polish:
fala nośna
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Portuguese:
onda portadora
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Romanian:
undă purtătoare
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Russian:
несу́щий сигна́л
(nesúščij signál)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Slovene:
nosilni signal
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Spanish:
onda portadora
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Sundanese:
gelombang pamawa
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Swedish:
bärvåg
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Tamil:
கடத்தி அலை
(kaṭatti alai)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Ukrainian:
опо́рний сигна́л
(opórnyj syhnál)
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
Vietnamese:
sóng tải
— wave that can be modulated to transmit signals
