1
a
: measurement of depth especially with a sounding line
b
: the depth so ascertained
c
soundings plural
: a place or part of a body of water where a hand sounding line will reach bottom
2
: measurement of atmospheric conditions at various heights
3
: a probe, test, or sampling of opinion or intention
Examples of sounding in a Sentence
Noun
The sailors were taking soundings as the ship approached the coast.
Recent Examples on the Web
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In early 2013, Mikaela Sanford responded to a Craigslist job posting for a small Sacramento company with mundane-sounding responsibilities: communicating with contractors, overseeing data entry and handling client correspondence.
—Melissa Korn, WSJ, 20 Aug. 2022
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2025
Satellite soundings can have advantages in timeliness and coverage (particularly over oceans), but the vertical resolution of weather balloon data is better.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sounding
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Adjective
Her attempt to package her experience as an advice book has the feel of what Freud called secondary revision, the effort to master chaotic psychic material by shoehorning it into a reasonable-sounding narrative.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In early 2013, Mikaela Sanford responded to a Craigslist job posting for a small Sacramento company with mundane-sounding responsibilities: communicating with contractors, overseeing data entry and handling client correspondence.
—Melissa Korn, WSJ, 20 Aug. 2022
Noun
And it’s understood soundings from the China Film Bureau, which keeps a firm regulatory hand on the exhibition market in China, indicates no changes are planned for guidance or orders for U.S. films in that country.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2025
Satellite soundings can have advantages in timeliness and coverage (particularly over oceans), but the vertical resolution of weather balloon data is better.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sounding
Cite this Entry
“Sounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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