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gamut

n.
C1 Advanced US //ˈɡæmət// UK //ɡˈæmʌt// gamut

n. the full range of something, like all the possible colors or all the different types of a feeling. You use it when you want to say something covers every possible variation.

n. the full range or spectrum of something, such as a set of colors, a range of emotions, or a series of musical notes. Often used to describe the breadth of a subject's scope or the variety of a person's experiences.


SIMPLE

The movie covers the entire gamut of human emotions.

CONTEXTUAL

The new software can display the entire gamut of colors available on modern monitors.

COMPLEX

The artist's career spans the entire gamut of modern styles, from the stark minimalism of the 1950s to the vibrant, chaotic energy of contemporary street art.

Origin

1520s, original sense “lowest note of musical scale”, contraction of Medieval Latin gamma ut, from gamma (“Greek letter, corresponding to the musical note G”) + ut (“first solfège syllable, now replaced by do”). In modern terms, “G do” – the first note of the G scale. Meaning later extended to mean all the notes of a scale, and then more generally any complete range.

Idioms1 entry

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