The reduction in signal power resulting from the insertion of a device in a transmission line.

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When you insert a device into a transmission line, the forward power that reaches the load is reduced. This loss caused specifically by the device is called insertion loss. It’s a measure of how much the device degrades the transmitted signal, and it’s typically expressed as a ratio of input to output power (often in decibels, 10 log10 of Pin/Pout). Attenuation, by contrast, refers to the general loss that happens as the signal travels through the line itself over distance, not due to inserting a particular component. Crosstalk is unwanted coupling into adjacent channels, not the loss in the forward path. Reflection happens when impedance mismatch causes part of the signal to bounce back toward the source, reducing the forward power but not describing the device’s inherent forward-loss the way insertion loss does. So the reduction in power caused by placing the device in the line is insertion loss.