bruit

1 of 2

noun

1

\ ˈbrüt \ archaic

a

: noise, din

b

: report, rumor

2

ˈbrü-ē  [French, literally, noise] : any of several generally abnormal sounds heard on auscultation

bruit

2 of 2

verb

ˈbrüt 

bruited; bruiting; bruits

transitive verb

: report, rumor

—usually used with about

word of his imminent dismissal was bruited about

Did you know?

Back in the days of Middle English, the Anglo-French noun bruit, meaning "clamor" or "noise," rattled into English. Soon English speakers were also using it to mean "report" or "rumor" (it was applied especially to favorable reports). They also began using bruit the way the verb noise was used (and still occasionally is) with the meaning "to spread by rumor or report" (as in "The scandal was quickly noised about"). The English noun bruit is now considered archaic, apart from a medical sense that is pronounced like the French word and refers to one of the abnormal sounds heard on auscultation.

Synonyms

Noun

• babel
• blare
• bluster
• bowwow
• brawl
• cacophony
• chatter
• clamor
• clangor
• decibel(s)
• din
• discordance
• katzenjammer
• noise
• racket
• rattle
• roar

Verb

• circulate
• noise (about or abroad)
• rumor
• whisper

Examples of bruit in a Sentence

Noun

a film that captures the thunderous fury of medieval warfare and the bruit of a thousand clashing swords

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This kind of noise, called a bruit, is caused by turbulence in the blood flowing through an artery. —Lisa Sanders, New York Times, 13 June 2018

Verb

Dramatic action, long bruited about, comes late, though forcefully: the schoolteacher, Matthew Diamond, a mainlander who is ambivalent toward his charges, introduces the threat, and then the reality, of unwanted attention from the government. —Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Jan. 2023

The main downside to the bill identified by the legislative analysts and bruited about by the drug industry is that lower profits would lead to a reduction in R&D spending. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2019

It was bruited about, for example, in 1992, during the George H.W. Bush administration, and again in 2012, when there were hopes that Mitt Romney would win election over Barack Obama. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2019

All these measures have been bruited about by economists inside and outside the government since 2012, when GDP growth slowed to a crawl even with oil prices still around $100 a barrel. —Leon Aron, National Review, 16 Feb. 2018

Normalization is a word much bruited about these days to describe the ways in which Americans have acceded to all sorts of indecent and dangerous phenomena since Trump launched his successful campaign for president more than two years ago. —James Kirchick, Slate Magazine, 22 Aug. 2017

See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, noise

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

bruit

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrüt 

archaic

: report entry 1 sense 1a, rumor

bruit

2 of 2 verb

: to spread by report or rumor

Medical Definition

bruit

noun

ˈbrü-ē 

: any of several generally abnormal sounds heard on auscultation

an audible bruit produced by an artery