ambient

1 of 2

adjective

am·​bi·​ent ˈam-bē-ənt How to pronounce ambient (audio)
1
: existing or present on all sides : encompassing
the ambient air temperature
ambient light
ambient sound
2
: of or relating to ambient music (see ambient entry 2 sense 2)

ambient

2 of 2

noun

1
: an encompassing atmosphere : environment
2
: music intended to serve as an unobtrusive accompaniment to other activities (as in a public place) and characterized especially by quiet and repetitive instrumental melodies

Did you know?

Biologists explore the effects of ambient light on plants; acoustics experts try to control ambient sound; and meteorologists study ambient pressure, air, or temperature. All this can make ambient seem like a technical term, but when it first saw light of day, that all-encompassing adjective was as likely to be used in poetry as in science. John Milton used it in Paradise Lost, and Alexander Pope wrote of a mountain "whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds conceal'd." Both poets and scientists who use ambient owe a debt to the Latin verb ambire, meaning "to go around," the grandparent of our English word.

Examples of ambient in a Sentence

Adjective Keep the chemicals at an ambient temperature of 70°F. the bright ambient light of the room People shopped as ambient music played in the background. Noun observing how the survival techniques of primates vary with the ambient
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
As on those albums, the storytelling is so vivid, listeners will have a challenge discerning fact from fiction as the Grammy winner lays bare accounts of romances that turned to tragedies over ambient synths. Jeff Nelson, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024 The ambient cello and night owls are quiet, for once, and the pace, at last, rests. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ambient 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ambient.' 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 Latin ambient-, ambiens, present participle of ambiō, ambīre "to visit in rotation, solicit (political support), seek to obtain, surround, encircle, embrace," from amb- "around, on both sides" + eō, īre "to go"; amb- going back to Indo-European *h2m̥bhi "around," whence also Germanic *umbi- (whence Old English ymbe "around, about," Old Frisian umbe, Old Saxon & Old High German umbi "around, about, concerning," Old Icelandic um, umb "around, about, beyond, over"), Gaulish ambi- "around (in names)," Old Irish imb, imm "around, about," Welsh & Breton am, Greek amphí "about, on both sides of," Armenian amb- (in ambołǰ "whole, intact"), Old Avestan aibī "for," Old Persian abiy "to, toward," Sanskrit abhí — more at issue entry 1

Note: The Latin prefix amb- is peculiar in that the expected linking vowel -i- never occurs; before consonants it syncopates, with consequent assimilation: -b- drops, and -m- becomes -n- before non-labial sounds (see amplexus, amputate, ancilla, anfractuous). Indo-European *h2m̥bhi may have developed from *h2n̥t-bhi, a frozen instrumental plural form of the noun *h2ent- "front, face" (see ante-). The same noun figures in *h2(e)nt-bhoh1 "both" (see ambi-).

Noun

derivative of ambient entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambient was in 1572

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Dictionary Entries Near ambient

Cite this Entry

“Ambient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambient. Accessed 4 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

ambient

adjective
am·​bi·​ent
ˈam-bē-ənt
: surrounding on all sides

Medical Definition

ambient

adjective
am·​bi·​ent ˈam-bē-ənt How to pronounce ambient (audio)
: surrounding on all sides
the ambient environment
ambient air pollution

More from Merriam-Webster on ambient

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