sound wave

noun

1

: sound entry 1 sense 1a

2

sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves in any material medium regardless of whether they constitute audible sound

earthquake waves and ultrasonic waves are sometimes called sound waves

Examples of sound wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also known as sonography, ultrasound is a noninvasive imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the inside of a person’s body. — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Indiana bats navigate and find insect prey by producing sound waves at frequencies above human hearing, experts say. — Mark Price june 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2026

The musical metaphor is particularly apt because gravitational waves oscillate much like sound waves, allowing researchers to analyze them with many of the same mathematical tools. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 26 June 2026

Yan and his colleagues used sound waves to encode a stream of data, including images and labels that identified those images. — IEEE Spectrum, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sound wave

• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave
• landgrave
• margrave
• shortwave
• aftershave

Medical Definition

sound wave

noun

1

: sound sense 1

2

sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves especially when transmitting audible sound