Meaning of sound in English

1. Pronunciation

   /saʊnd/

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   UK accent

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1. Verb

   sound

   Etymology

   late Middle English: from Old French sonder, based on Latin sub-‘below’ + unda‘wave’

   Definitions

   1. appear in a certain way

   Examples

   • « This sounds interesting »
2. 2. make a certain noise or sound

   Examples

   • « She went 'Mmmmm' »
   • « The gun went 'bang' »

   Derived terms

   • audio
3. 3. give off a certain sound or sounds

   Examples

   • « This record sounds scratchy »

   Derived terms

   • auditory sensation
4. 4. announce by means of a sound

   Examples

   • « sound the alarm »

   Derived terms

   • audio
   • auditory sensation
   • phone
   • speech sound
5. 5. utter with vibrating vocal chords

   Antonyms

   • devoice

   Derived terms

   • phonation
   • phone
   • singer
   • sonant
   • speech sound
   • utterer
   • vocalisation
   • vocaliser
   • vocalist
   • vocalization
   • vocalizer
   • voice
   • voiced sound
   • vox
6. 6. cause to sound

   Examples

   • « sound the bell »
   • « sound a certain note »

   Derived terms

   • auditory sensation
7. 7. measure the depth of (a body of water) with a sounding line

   Derived terms

   • fathom
   • fthm
   • sounder
   • sounding

8. Classifying Adjective

   sound

   Definitions

   1. exercising or showing good judgment

   Examples

   • « healthy scepticism »
   • « a healthy fear of rattlesnakes »
   • « the healthy attitude of French laws »
   • « healthy relations between labor and management »
   • « an intelligent solution »
   • « a sound approach to the problem »
   • « sound advi »

   Synonyms

   • reasonable
   • sensible
9. 2. in excellent physical condition

   Examples

   • « good teeth »
   • « I still have one good leg »
   • « a sound mind in a sound body »

   Synonyms

   • healthy
10. 3. reflects weight of sound argument or evidence

    Examples

    • « a sound argument »

    Synonyms

    • valid
11. 4. having legal efficacy or force

    Examples

    • « a sound title to the property »

    Synonyms

    • valid
12. 5. free from moral defect

    Examples

    • « a man of sound character »

    Synonyms

    • righteous
13. 6. (of sleep) deep and complete

    Examples

    • « a heavy sleep »
    • « fell into a profound sleep »
    • « a sound sleeper »
    • « deep wakeless sleep »

    Synonyms

    • deep
14. 7. thorough

    Examples

    • « a sound thrashing »

    Synonyms

    • complete

15. Adverb

    sound

    Definitions

    1. deeply or completely

    Examples

    • « slept soundly through the storm »
    • « is sound asleep »

16. Noun

    sound

    Etymology

    Middle English soun, from Anglo-Norman French soun (noun), suner (verb), from Latin sonus. The form with -d was established in the 16th century

    Definitions

    1. the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause

    Examples

    • « the sound of rain on the roof »
    • « the beautiful sound of music »

    Antonyms

    • silence
    • quiet

    Derived terms

    • go
17. 2. the subjective sensation of hearing something

    Examples

    • « he strained to hear the faint sounds »
18. 3. mechanical vibrations transmitted by an elastic medium

    Examples

    • « falling trees make a sound in the forest even when no one is there to hear them »

    Derived terms

    • go
19. 4. the sudden occurrence of an audible event

    Examples

    • « the sound awakened them »

    Derived terms

    • go
20. 5. the audible part of a transmitted signal

    Examples

    • « they always raise the audio for commercials »

    Derived terms

    • go
21. 6. (phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language

    Derived terms

    • phonate
    • vocalise
    • vocalize
    • voice
22. 7. a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water
23. 8. a large ocean inlet or deep bay

    Examples

    • « the main body of the sound ran parallel to the coast »

    Derived terms

    • fathom

24. Qualitative Adjective

    sound

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old Englishgesund, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gezond and German gesund

    Definitions

    1. financially secure and safe

    Examples

    • « sound investments »
    • « a sound economy »

    Synonyms

    • dependable
    • good
    • safe
    • secure
    • healthy
    • stable

    Antonyms

    • unsound
25. 2. in good condition

    Examples

    • « free from defect or damage or decay »
    • « a sound timber »
    • « the wall is sound »
    • « a sound foundation »

    Synonyms

    • solid
    • strong
    • substantial

    Antonyms

    • unsound

Famous quotes

• « The sound of 'gentle stillness' after all the thunder and wind have passed will the ultimate Word from God. »
  Jim Elliot
• « If you're working on a movie, you want it to be projected on the largest tapestry possible, and the sound to be perfect, and for that kind of communal experience of the movies to take place for it. »
  Greg Kinnear
• « I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. »
  Douglas Adams
• « In anything I've ever written, all the characters sound like me, which I don't think is a bad thing. It makes sense. But I had always admired filmmakers who made movies that didn't sound like them at all. »
  Kevin Smith
• « I know that campaigns can seem small, and even silly. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me - so am I. »
  Barack Obama

Browse dictionary

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