vocoder

noun

vo·​cod·​er ˈvō-ˈkō-dər 

: an electronic mechanism that reduces speech signals to slowly varying signals transmittable over communication systems of limited frequency bandwidth

Examples of vocoder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The use of vocoder fosters a discourse on performance, artifice, and camp. —Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 9 Aug. 2025

And plenty of fans are furious that Childers has embraced studio bells and whistles — there’s vocoder and drum loops on some songs — and is no longer singing exclusively about hardscrabble Appalachian life à la his 2017 debut Purgatory. —Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2025

And the hooks just keep coming, from those harmonies coming out of the chorus to an instrumental break with handclaps and the title line run through a vocoder. —Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 20 Oct. 2024

His solo album White Roses, My God bridges tones and styles, with electronics and prominent vocoder the constants against a turbulent backdrop of abrasive, frenetic, or droning electronics. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

voice coder

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vocoder

• decoder
• encoder
• unloader
• coder
• loader
• odor
• odour