sound wave

noun

Definition of sound wave

1 : sound entry 1 sense 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

Examples of sound wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Marra used a two-stage system for his research: sonic tomography, which sends sound waves through the tree, followed by electrical resistance tomography, which transmits an electric current. — Jan Ellen Spiegel, Quartz, "Scientists are finding that forests aren’t as good at fighting climate change as we thought," 12 Sep. 2019 The mysterious noises initially led investigators to suspect a sonic weapon, but investigators ruled out the possibility sound waves could have caused the damage. — Josh Lederman, NBC News, "Doctors find differences in brains of U.S. diplomats who alleged mystery attacks in Cuba," 23 July 2019 The sound wave technology behind Cliovana is relatively well-supported by science for a variety of other uses. — Daliah Singer, Glamour, "Are Sound Waves the Key to Better Orgasms?," 17 July 2019 The design features of old-school fine dining restaurants — tablecloths, drapes and carpeting — also happen to absorb sound waves, keeping them from bouncing off surfaces and amplifying a crowded room. — Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, "Why we need to rethink the concept of noise in restaurants," 13 Sep. 2019 The researchers were looking for the coupling between electrons and a type of sound wave, called a phonon. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Hydride predicted to be superconductive at room temperature," 6 Sep. 2019 The sounds were created with audio equipment, including oscillators, that created tunable sound waves. — New York Times, "Mario Davidovsky, Composer Who Made Electronics Sing, Dies at 85," 28 Aug. 2019 By changing the frequency and volume of the sound waves, the researchers are able to alter the robots' movements and vary their speed. — NBC News, "These 'microbristle' robots are so small they might work inside the human body," 29 July 2019 Wakefield digitally manipulates, shapes and colors the sound waves from each recording, a process that can take up to two weeks. — Tatiana Cirisano, Billboard, "Big Picture: Tim Wakefield's Sound-Wave Art Pieces Raise $2.4 Million for Charity," 26 July 2019

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.