quantize

  1. Verb.  (transitive, physics) To limit the number of possible values of a quantity, or states of a system, by applying the rules of quantum mechanics.
  2. Verb.  (transitive, telecommunications) To approximate a continuously varying signal by one whose amplitude can only have a set of discrete values.
  3. Verb.  (transitive, music) To shift each beat in a rhythmic pattern to the nearest beat of a given resolution (eighth note, sixteenth note, etc.), or to adjust the frequency or pitch of a note to the nearest perfect tone in a given musical scale.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.