sound effects

plural noun

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of sound effects

: effects that are imitative of sounds called for in the script of a dramatic production (such as a radio show) and that enhance the production's illusion of reality

Recent Examples of sound effects from the Web

Tinny laser sound effects have never felt so sinister.

— tom philip, GQ, "A Quiet Place Review: One Scary-Ass Monster Movie," 5 Apr. 2018
For a recent assignment in his radio and audio production course, Winnetka native and Southern Illinois senior Matt Lauer had to record himself telling a story, and use sound effects and music to add drama to the piece.

— dan shalin, chicagotribune.com, "New Trier grad realizes college sports dream after gruesome injury," 4 Apr. 2018
The bitter historical lessons were tempered for younger students using narration, song, and sound effects.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, ""Freedom Train" Pulls Into Center For The Arts," 3 Apr. 2018
Director and sound designer Jonathan Mitchell masterfully employ a mix of realistic sound effects and impressive voice acting to immerse the listener in a new environment each episode — Santa’s North Pole, a dystopian mall, a submarine.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now," 30 Mar. 2018
The second version of the video, directed by Michel Gondry, is a fiasco, a halfhearted parody of the show Bewitched featuring endless celebrity cameos and intrusive dialogue and sound effects.

— morgan enos, Billboard, "Before Taylor Swift's 'Delicate,' These 10 Songs Had More Than One Music Video," 30 Mar. 2018
The instant open and sweet sound effect was a bit of movie magic, but shortly after the movie's release, Nokia engineered a spring loaded slider into 8110's successor, the 7110.

— ron amadeo, Ars Technica, "Nokia’s latest nostalgia-bait feature phone is the 8110 “Banana Phone”," 25 Feb. 2018
Some of the scenes also fall flat, as when the ensemble vocalizes sound effects (tshik-tshik-tshik goes the whisk, and so on) while Babette prepares her feast.

— elisabeth vincentelli, New York Times, "Review: ‘Babette’s Feast’ Is Served, This Time Onstage," 26 Mar. 2018
The replays, embellished by comet trails on flying baseballs, whooshing sound effects and a stream of esoteric statistics, spoke the language of a generation raised on video games.

— tom verducci, SI.com, "Countdown to Liftoff: How Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson Embody Baseball's New Era," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sound effects.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.