phonograph

noun

pho·​no·​graph ˈfō-nə-ˌgraf 

: an instrument for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus or needle following a spiral groove on a revolving disc or cylinder

Examples of phonograph in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Accompanying the report was a detailed sketch of Edison’s device, which the inventor called a phonograph. —Ron Cowen, Scientific American, 3 June 2026

In 1932, the inventor Alois Benjamin Saliger patented the Psycho-phone, a phonograph hooked up to a timer which could play recordings while a person was asleep. —Shayla Love, New Yorker, 1 May 2026

There was the new music form of jazz and new technologies that included the production of photographic film, the phonograph, and moving images. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026

His traveling kit included films, lantern slides, projection equipment and a phonograph. —Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

phono- + -graph

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for phonograph

• autograph
• biograph
• cenotaph
• chronograph
• epigraph
• epitaph
• hodograph
• holograph
• hydrograph
• lithograph
• micrograph
• monograph

Kids Definition

phonograph

noun

pho·​no·​graph ˈfō-nə-ˌgraf 

: an instrument that reproduces sound recorded on a grooved disk

phonographic

ˌfō-nə-ˈgraf-ik

adjective

phonographically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb