sound wave

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of sound wave

1 : ¹sound 1a

2 sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves in any material medium regardless of whether they constitute audible sound

earthquake waves and ultrasonic waves are sometimes called sound waves

See sound wave defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of sound wave from the Web

The three lowest frequencies are used to encode language as a sound wave.

— National Geographic, "Yanny or Laurel? Strange Audio Clip Explained.," 16 May 2018
De Wilde, whose gangly frame recalls the Cramps' Lux Interior in his prime, is a whirlwind of energy onstage, so much so that her dancing can sometimes seem like a physical reaction to the sound waves crashing through her body.

— randall roberts, latimes.com, "Video premiere: Starcrawler shreds through Japan in new clip for 'Love's Gone Again'," 1 May 2018
According to the National Ocean Service, since sound waves travel well underwater and are highly directional, many animals use sounds for communication, orientation and navigation, and to find prey and mate.

— andrea diaz, CNN, "These sharks will take Ellington over Mozart any day," 18 May 2018
Linguists can study these sound waves and separate them out into their component frequencies, and display them in something called a spectrogram.

— rachel gutman, The Atlantic, "A Linguist Explains Why 'Laurel' Sounds Like 'Yanny'," 15 May 2018
The skull acts like an antenna, the scientists reported today in San Diego, California, at the 2018 Experimental Biology conference, vibrating as sound waves impact it and then transmitting those vibrations to the whale’s ears.

— jeremy rehm, Science | AAAS, "Whale skulls act like antennas, CT scans reveal," 23 Apr. 2018
In fact, through Discovery World's Learning Journeys program, every MPS fourth grader attends programming to learn about sound waves, energy transfer and light transformation.

— amy schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Music videos, Captain Kangaroo, a UN designation: 3 cool facts about Discovery World," 21 Oct. 2017
Researchers at Penn State University created an underwater ground cloak capable of redirecting sound waves so objects appear concealed.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "'Star Trek' tech gets real: Cloaking device conceals objects, Penn State researchers say," 10 May 2018
SoFi is controlled with a remote that emits low-frequency sound waves.

— sarah toy, WSJ, "If It Looks Like a Fish and Swims Like a Fish, It Might Just Be a Robot," 21 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of sound wave

1848

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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SOUND WAVE Defined for English Language Learners

sound wave

noun

Definition of sound wave for English Language Learners

: a wave that is formed when a sound is made and that moves through the air and carries the sound to your ear

SOUND WAVE Defined for Kids

sound wave

noun

Definition of sound wave for Students

: a wave that is produced when a sound is made and is responsible for carrying the sound to the ear

Medical Dictionary

sound wave

noun

medical Definition of sound wave

1 : sound 1

2 sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves especially when transmitting audible sound

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See words that rhyme with sound wave Spanish Central: Translation of sound wave Nglish: Translation of sound wave for Spanish speakers

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sound wave

Definition of sound wave

Recent Examples of sound wave from the Web

First Known Use of sound wave

SOUND WAVE Defined for English Language Learners

sound wave

Definition of sound wave for English Language Learners

SOUND WAVE Defined for Kids

sound wave

Definition of sound wave for Students

Medical Dictionary

sound wave

medical Definition of sound wave

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sound wave

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SOUND WAVE Defined for English Language Learners

sound wave

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SOUND WAVE Defined for Kids

sound wave

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