audible

1 of 3

adjective

au·​di·​ble ˈȯ-də-bəl How to pronounce audible (audio)
: heard or capable of being heard
spoke in a barely audible voice
audibility noun
audibly adverb

audible

2 of 3

noun

American football
: a substitute offensive or defensive play called at the line of scrimmage

audible

3 of 3

verb

audibled; audibling ˈȯ-də-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce audible (audio)

intransitive verb

American football
: to call an audible
Chicago quarterback Jim Harbaugh audibled to a pass play …Peter King

Examples of audible in a Sentence

Adjective Her voice was barely audible over the noise. He let out an audible sigh.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
On opening night, audible groans could be heard from audience members as the predatory uncle stalks and manipulates his prey or when family members look the other way and blame the victim. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024 This will give drivers, and everyone around the car, the sort of audible signature that would usually come from a traditional internal combustion engine. Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 The band’s groovy song felt like a music video come to life thanks to their dancers, who bust out moves while climbing side-stage staircases and replicated their filmed choreography, earning audible cheers from the crowd in the process. Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 3 Mar. 2024 Sound designers had to find an audible way to convey that something sinister was underfoot. Craigh Barboza, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024 Outdoor acoustic warning systems can transmit audible voice instructions over long distances, even in the presence of loud background noise. Richard Danforth, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 The adrenaline-pumping routine elicited audible gasps and concerned yells from the judges and studio audience. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 The organization posted a video clip of what appeared to be a gymnasium on its grounds, with audible shelling outside. Abigail Williams, NBC News, 30 Jan. 2024 From Bill Plaschke: The confetti erupted and the curtain came down and, amid audible gasps, there appeared a muscular bronze figure doing something nobody expected. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024
Noun
But instead, Orton’s rivalry with Paul was ignited by Paul himself, and that appears to be a late audible to the WrestleMania 40 card. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Despite the new passing concepts, philosophies and audibles, the team’s best play is still Jackson ad libbing, running around and giving his receivers time to get open. Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024 Down Jodie Foster, Nyad Netflix called a post-TIFF audible, making Foster’s straight-shooting audience surrogate the face of the Nyad campaign. Vulture, 19 Jan. 2024 Kansas City Chiefs fans are used to Patrick Mahomes’ improvisatory style, but last week, the team nearly called an audible on using the quarterback himself as their backup punter. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023 Seconds later the fire dispatcher is punching the audibles for Company 100, Company 8, and Station 4, trailed by the warble that signifies an MVA, a motor-vehicle accident. Oliver Broudy, Men's Health, 17 Aug. 2023 That one, played nearly at the end of the night, seemed to have been called by Costello as an audible. Chris Willman, Variety, 15 July 2023 Seeking only its third head football coach in 43 years, venerable, staid Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High called an audible in December. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2023 The other purely comedic number was the actual finale, where Nelson called an audible. Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2023
Verb
Sills is heard saying on the 911 call, his distraught children audible in the background. Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023 So Lennon quickly apologized and audibled to introduce Charlo. Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2023 Then a band of Royal Marines appeared in pith helmets, each stomp of their marching feet clearly audible. Alex Traub, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2023 The sound got muffled, with lead guitarist Bob Stinson barely audible. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2023 Watson appeared to audible and Scott moved down near the line. Dan Labbe, cleveland, 14 Sep. 2023 Plus, Rodgers has always been good at protecting himself — audibling to quick passes, or throwing the ball away quickly to avoid sacks. Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Aug. 2023 Sonifications have, in fact, already been used for research, including by the astrophysicist Wanda Díaz-Merced, who has been blind since her 20s and now works at the European Gravitational Observatory in Cascina, Italy. SYSTEM Sounds isn’t the only group trying to make the cosmos audible. Ramin Skibba, WIRED, 7 July 2023 Then, on May 24, two days before the end of the school year, sirens filled Main Street, audible from nearly every corner in town. Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'audible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Late Latin audībilis, from Latin audīre "to hear" + -bilis "subject to or capable of (the action of the verb)"; audīre perhaps going back to Indo-European *h2eu̯is- "evident, manifest" (akin, with varying vowel placement and ablaut grades, to Greek aḯein "to perceive, hear," Sanskrit āvíṣ "evidently," Avestan auuiš, Old Church Slavic avě, javě "clearly, manifestly," Lithuanian ovyje "in reality," Hittite au-/u- "see, look") + *dheh1- "put, place" — more at do entry 1, -able

Note: Though there is general agreement in the etymological literature on the identity of the first element of audiō, audīre, the second element is problematic. If audiō goes back to a pre-Latin *áwizdijō, the outcome of the cluster *-zdh- as -d- conflicts with its apparent outcome elsewhere as -st-, as in hasta "spear" (see yard entry 2) and perhaps in custōs "guardian" (see custody). (The cluster -zd- without an aspirate regularly yields loss of -z- with lengthening of the preceding vowel, as in nīdus "nest" from *nizdos—see nest entry 1.)

Noun

derivative of audible entry 1

Verb

derivative of audible entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1961, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of audible was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near audible

Cite this Entry

“Audible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/audible. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

audible

adjective
au·​di·​ble
ˈȯd-ə-bəl
: heard or capable of being heard
the sound was barely audible
audibility
ˌȯd-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē
noun
audibly
ˈȯd-ə-blē
adverb

Medical Definition

audible

adjective
au·​di·​ble ˈȯd-ə-bəl How to pronounce audible (audio)
: heard or capable of being heard
audibility noun
plural audibilities
audibly adverb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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