sound wave

noun

Updated on: 20 Apr 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 sound waves that bounce back are picked up by sensors, painting a picture of potential oil deposits.

— author: rosanna xia, Anchorage Daily News, "New rules would make it easier to find offshore oil – and noisier for whales," 12 Apr. 2018
Fourier analysis tells us that complicated sound waves are built from sine waves of many different frequencies, like primary colors.

— eugenia cheng, WSJ, "What Makes One Voice Shrill, Another Sweet?," 11 Apr. 2018
Multiple lifting surfaces, such as forward canards and a small t-tail, will prevent sound waves from coalescing on the aircraft.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Picks Lockheed Martin to Make Low-Boom Supersonic X-Plane," 3 Apr. 2018
The educational program mixed singing, recall, and hands-on activities with concepts such as echos, vibrations, and sound waves.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Exploring The Science Of Sound With Sally Rogers," 27 Mar. 2018
The Non-Lethal Laser-Induced Plasma Effect (NL-LIPE) system can be used to manipulate air molecules, creating a ball of plasma that oscillates to create sound waves with a stream of femtosecond-long laser bursts.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Non-Lethal Weapon: DOD seeks to use lasers to create shouting will-o-the-wisp," 22 Mar. 2018
Instead, said Régis Trapeau, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal and author of the new paper, the determination involves the way the sound waves bounce off outer parts of your ear.

— veronique greenwood, New York Times, "How the Shape of Your Ears Affects What You Hear," 6 Mar. 2018
The sound waves that bounce back are picked up by sensors, painting a picture of potential oil deposits.

— rosanna xia, latimes.com, "New rules would make it easier to find oil — and endanger whales and dolphins," 2 Apr. 2018
Inspectors also discovered that there was no documentation that the cleaning solution in one of the clinic's sonic cleaners, a machine that uses sound waves to sterilize equipment, had ever been changed.

— nick powell, Houston Chronicle, "Two Coastal Health administrators resign amid probe into disease exposure," 30 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

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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