geophone

noun

geo·​phone ˈjē-ə-ˌfōn How to pronounce geophone (audio)
: an instrument for detecting vibrations passing through rocks, soil, or ice

Examples of geophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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As such, the paper authors looked to the readings of 650 portable geophones scattered around Yellowstone’s roads, which revealed its seismic activity in sharper detail. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025 Unfortunately, the signals from distant quakes have relatively low vibrational frequencies, and the compact geophone sensor in a Raspberry Shake is meant for higher frequencies. IEEE Spectrum, 2 Jan. 2025 The team is closely watching data recorded by eight geophones—acoustic detectors that pick up seismic waves—hanging in nearby boreholes. Gregory Barber, WIRED, 19 July 2023 The percussion section has some odd additions, including a whip, gongs, crotales (small cymbals struck with a mallet), a wind machine and one instrument invented specifically for this work: A geophone, or sand machine, a flat drum filled with beads to imitate the sound of shifting sand. Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Dec. 2021 Every Raspberry Shake, including the most popular Raspberry Shake 1D, comes equipped with a geophone that measures the vertical component of seismic waves. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of geophone was in 1919

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Cite this Entry

“Geophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geophone. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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