Friday, October 2, 2009

Gamut

n.

1. A complete range or extent: a face that expressed a gamut of emotions, from rage to peaceful contentment.

A gamut is anything graduated (i.e. marked at regular intervals) used to measure. A ruler, for example, could be called a gamut. In music a gamut represents all the known musical notes. Finally, gamut can also mean a complete range of something (e.g., a gamut of colors).

ESPN’s online arm runs gamut of live sports offerings (USA Today)

The court’s liberal wing strenuously disagreed, offering its own historical construction that emphasized a gamut of restrictions on firearms… (WSJ)


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