sound wave

noun

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

The San Bernardino County Fire Department tested new technology on Monday designed to help suppress fires by using sound waves. —Joy Benedict, CBS News, 31 Mar. 2026

Instead of positioning the sound directly over the ear and pumping sound waves into the ear canal, the OAE2’s acoustic output works with the shape of the listener’s ears to enhance the sound, like cupping a hand to the ear. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2026

Simply put, just like photons are quantized light waves, phonons are quantized sound waves. —Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 30 Mar. 2026

The air guns used to emit those sound waves are responsible for near-constant underwater noise in the Gulf. —Chiara Eisner, NPR, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sound wave

• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave
• landgrave
• margrave
• shortwave
• aftershave

Medical Definition

sound wave

noun

1

: sound sense 1

2

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