hydrophone

noun

hy·​dro·​phone ˈhī-drə-ˌfōn How to pronounce hydrophone (audio)
: an instrument for listening to sound transmitted through water

Examples of hydrophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Loch Ness Center said researchers would try to seek evidence of Nessie using thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras and a hydrophone to detect underwater sounds in the lake’s murky waters. Jill Lawless, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2023 In this way, the four hydrophones record the three-dimensional sound field at a specific location. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024 Resident Sara Healy recently contacted a marine scientist, who agreed to help if Healy and her neighbors raise money for hydrophones that can record audio in the Tampa Bay, where many residents think the sound is coming from. Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2024 Many of the whale-watching boats are equipped with hydrophones that give visitors the opportunity to hear the sounds of the whales communicating with one another. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2024 Crutchfield and co simply attached four ordinary hydrophones pointing in different directions to a steel sphere about thirty centimeters in diameter. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024 During one notorious tantrum in September 1952, the U.S. Navy’s deep-sea hydrophones detected a series of loud explosions in the Pacific Ocean, 230 miles south of Tokyo. Susan Casey, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Aug. 2023 As sensors have gotten cheaper and technologies such as hydrophones, biologgers and drones have improved, the amount of animal data has exploded. Lois Parshley, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023 Meanwhile, the hydrophone array, attached to the rusty train wheels, had dropped to the bottom of the sea. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hydrophone was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near hydrophone

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

hydrophone

noun
hy·​dro·​phone ˈhī-drə-ˌfōn How to pronounce hydrophone (audio)
: an instrument for listening to sound transmitted through water

More from Merriam-Webster on hydrophone

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