Meaning & use
sampling period
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
The span of time during which samples are collected or measurements are taken for a study or test.
Grammar: Takes an or the: the sampling period lasted six weeks.
Patterns
- during the sampling period
- a sampling period of something
Water quality was measured daily throughout the sampling period.
The sampling period began in May and ended in October.
A longer sampling period gives more reliable results.
nouncountabletechnical
In signal processing, the length of time between one reading of a changing signal and the next.
Grammar: Often given as a number: a sampling period of ten milliseconds.
Patterns
- a sampling period of something
A shorter sampling period captures more detail in the audio signal.
The sensor has a sampling period of one second.
Engineers adjusted the sampling period to reduce noise.
Word forms
| plural | sampling periods |
|---|
Common combinations
- during the sampling period
- No rain fell during the sampling period.
- extend the sampling period
- The team decided to extend the sampling period by two weeks.
- shorten the sampling period
- Shortening the sampling period saves cost but loses detail.
- length of the sampling period
- The length of the sampling period affects accuracy.
- seasonal sampling period
- The seasonal sampling period covered spring and summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- study period
- Study period is the whole duration of a research project, while sampling period covers only when samples are collected.
- observation window
- Observation window suggests a limited time for watching events and is less about collecting physical samples.
- sampling interval
- Sampling interval means the gap between individual samples rather than the whole collecting span.
Word family
Commonly confused: sampling period or sampling period vs. sampling rate?
sampling period vs sampling period vs. sampling rate
The period is a length of time, while the rate is how many samples are taken per second.
Practice
Researchers measured air pollution every day throughout the three-month ___.
Choose one answer.
A sampling period is the time during which data is collected. A grace period delays a deadline, a trial period tests a product, and a waiting period is a required delay.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sampling period”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.