: a method or device for detecting and locating objects especially underwater by means of sound waves sent out to be reflected by the objects
also
: a device for detecting the presence of a vessel (such as a submarine) by the sound it emits in water
Examples of sonar in a Sentence
They detected the submarine by using sonar.
Recent Examples on the Web
Conventional sonar and radar systems rarely help detect such submarines.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
The leaders of a group that went searching for it at the end of June were dumbfounded when the King suddenly appeared on sonar, said Brendon Baillod, president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Over millennia, marine animals have honed ears and sonar-like abilities to read their world in vibrations and echoes, turning the ocean into a place both alive with sound and fine-tuned to its subtleties.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
The seamount is 250 miles north of Palau — an island country east of the Philippines — and multibeam sonar revealed its peak is hidden about 800 feet below the surface.
—Mark Price, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sonar
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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
The leaders of a group that went searching for it at the end of June were dumbfounded when the King suddenly appeared on sonar, said Brendon Baillod, president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Over millennia, marine animals have honed ears and sonar-like abilities to read their world in vibrations and echoes, turning the ocean into a place both alive with sound and fine-tuned to its subtleties.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
The seamount is 250 miles north of Palau — an island country east of the Philippines — and multibeam sonar revealed its peak is hidden about 800 feet below the surface.
—Mark Price, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sonar
Cite this Entry
“Sonar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sonar. Accessed 25 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sonar
noun
so·nar
ˈsō-ˌnär 
: a device for detecting the presence and location of submerged objects (as submarines) by sound waves
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