microphone

noun

mi·​cro·​phone ˈmī-krə-ˌfōn How to pronounce microphone (audio)
: an instrument whereby sound waves are caused to generate or modulate an electric current usually for the purpose of transmitting or recording sound (such as speech or music)
microphonic adjective

Examples of microphone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Using Soul Machines’ proprietary camera and microphone technology, Digital Marilyn is able to read user emotions, analyze preferences, and tailor her responses accordingly, the company stated. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024 Agents followed them everywhere, tapped their phones, planted microphones in their houses. Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024 Kate Winslet was standing in front of a microphone, breathing hard. Susan Dominus, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 When Walter Hunter came to the microphone, he was berated by jeers. Gerard Albert, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 In terms of their gimmicks and microphone skills, Paul and Knight would have made tremendous opponents for one another. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 ShotSpotter places 15 to 20 sensors per square mile that contain a microphone, a GPS system, memory processing and cell capability to transmit data from the location, the company’s CEO Ralph Clark told the ACLU in 2015. Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 24 Feb. 2024 Striding on stage with confidence, Streep gave Elba a big smooch on the cheek — and then promptly walked straight into the microphone. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 24 Feb. 2024 There are two microphones built into each earpiece for picking up the user’s voice when making phone calls or having a Zoom meeting. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'microphone.' 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

micro- + Greek -phōnos "having a sound (of the kind or number specified)," derivative of phōnḗ "sound made by something living, voice, speech, utterance" — more at phono-

Note: The first use of a compound with these Greek elements in English or any other language appears to have been in an essay by the English-born Church of Ireland cleric Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713): "As Microscopes or Magnifying Glasses, help the Eye to see near Objects, that by reason of their smallness were Invisible before; which Objects they Magnify to a strange greatness: so Microphones or Microacousticks, that is, Magnifying Ear Instruments may be contriv'd after that manner, that they shall render the most minute Sound in nature distinctly Audible, by Magnifying it to an unconceivable loudness" ("An introductory Essay to the Doctrine of Sounds, containing some proposals for the improvement of Acousticks," Philosophical Transactions [of the Royal Society], vol. 14, no. 156, February 20, 1684, p. 482). Marsh clearly based the coinage on microscope (with earlier telescope), but as a piece of word formation it is not entirely successful, given that the Greek elements, if interpreted literally, would mean "having a small sound/voice," not hearing or amplifying a sound. (A better alternative might have been megaphone entry 1, coined centuries later.) Marsh's microphone was a more or less theoretical device, and the word, which occurs sporadically thereafter, might have passed into oblivion. It was taken up again, however, by the British inventor Charles Wheatstone (1802-75), who described a purely acoustic device for transmitting sound as a microphone ("Experiments on Audition," The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and Art, July to December, 1827, p. 69). Following Wheatstone, the British-American inventor David Edward Hughes (1831-1900) applied microphone to an electric transmitter using carbon to magnify sound ("On the Action of Sonorous Vibrations in varying the Force of an Electric Current," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, vol. 27 [1878], p. 365), a use perhaps impelled by telephone,

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of microphone was in 1878

Dictionary Entries Near microphone

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

microphone

noun
mi·​cro·​phone ˈmī-krə-ˌfōn How to pronounce microphone (audio)
: an instrument in which sound energy is changed into electrical energy usually for the purpose of transmitting or recording sound (as speech or music)

Medical Definition

microphone

noun
mi·​cro·​phone ˈmī-krə-ˌfōn How to pronounce microphone (audio)
: an instrument whereby sound waves are caused to generate or modulate an electric current usually for the purpose of transmitting or recording sound (as speech or music)

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