sound 1 (sound)n.1. a. Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.b. Transmitted vibrations of any frequency.c. The sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by such vibrations in the air or other medium.d. Such sensations considered as a group.2. A distinctive noise: a hollow sound.3. The distance over which something can be heard: within sound of my voice.4. Linguistics a. An articulation made by the vocal apparatus: a vowel sound.b. The distinctive character of such an articulation: The words bear and bare have the same sound.5. A mental impression; an implication: didn’t like the sound of the invitation.6. Auditory material that is recorded, as for a movie.7. Meaningless noise.8. Music A distinctive style, as of an orchestra or singer.9. Archaic Rumor; report.v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds v.intr.1. a. To make or give forth a sound: The siren sounded.b. To be given forth as a sound: The fanfare sounded.2. To present a particular impression: That argument sounds reasonable.v.tr.1. To cause to give forth or produce a sound: sounded the gong.2. To summon, announce, or signal by a sound: sound a warning.3. Linguistics To articulate; pronounce: sound a vowel.4. To make known; celebrate: “Nations unborn your mighty names shall sound” (Alexander Pope).5. To examine (a body organ or part) by causing to emit sound; auscultate.Phrasal Verb: sound off1. To express one’s views vigorously: was always sounding off about higher taxes.2. To count cadence when marching in military formation.[Middle English soun, from Old French son, from Latin sonus; see swen- in Indo-European roots.]sound 2 (sound)adj. sound·er, sound·est 1. Free from defect, decay, or damage; in good condition: Is the bridge sound?2. Free from disease or injury. See Synonyms at healthy.3. a. Marked by or showing common sense and good judgment; levelheaded: a sound approach to the problem.b. Based on valid reasoning; having no logical flaws: a sound conclusion; sound reasoning. See Synonyms at valid.c. Logic Of or relating to an argument in which all the premises are true and the conclusion follows from the premises.4. a. Secure or stable: a partnership that started on a sound footing.b. Financially secure or safe: a sound economy.5. Thorough; complete: gave their rivals a sound thrashing.6. Deep and unbroken; undisturbed: a sound sleep.7. Compatible with an accepted point of view; orthodox: sound doctrine.adv. Thoroughly; deeply: sound asleep.[Middle English, from Old English gesund.]sound?ly adv.sound?ness n.sound 3 (sound)n.1. Abbr. Sd.a. A long, relatively wide body of water, larger than a strait or a channel, connecting larger bodies of water.b. A long, wide ocean inlet.2. Archaic The swim bladder of a fish.[Middle English, from Old English sund, swimming, sea.]sound 4 (sound)v. sound·ed, sound·ing, sounds v.tr.1. To measure the depth of (water), especially by means of a weighted line; fathom.2. To try to learn the attitudes or opinions of: sounded out her feelings.3. To probe (a body cavity) with a sound.v.intr.1. To measure depth.2. To dive swiftly downward. Used of a marine mammal or a fish.3. To look into a possibility; investigate.n. An instrument used to examine or explore body cavities, as for foreign bodies or other abnormalities, or to dilate strictures in them.[Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde, sounding line, probably of Germanic origin.]sound?a·ble adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.sound (sa?nd) n1. (General Physics) a. a periodic disturbance in the pressure or density of a fluid or in the elastic strain of a solid, produced by a vibrating object. It has a velocity in air at sea level at 0°C of 331 metres per second (741 miles per hour) and travels as longitudinal wavesb. (as modifier): a sound wave. 2. (Broadcasting) (modifier) of or relating to radio as distinguished from television: sound broadcasting; sound radio. 3. (Physiology) the sensation produced by such a periodic disturbance in the organs of hearing4. anything that can be heard5. a particular instance, quality, or type of sound: the sound of running water. 6. volume or quality of sound: a radio with poor sound. 7. the area or distance over which something can be heard: to be born within the sound of Big Ben. 8. the impression or implication of something: I don’t like the sound of that. 9. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics the auditory effect produced by a specific articulation or set of related articulations10. (Jazz) (often plural) slang music, esp rock, jazz, or popvb11. to cause (something, such as an instrument) to make a sound or (of an instrument, etc) to emit a sound12. to announce or be announced by a sound: to sound the alarm. 13. (intr) (of a sound) to be heard14. (intr) to resonate with a certain quality or intensity: to sound loud. 15. (copula) to give the impression of being as specified when read, heard, etc: to sound reasonable. 16. (tr) to pronounce distinctly or audibly: to sound one’s consonants. 17. (Law) law (usually foll by: in) to have the essential quality or nature (of): an action sounding in damages. [C13: from Old French soner to make a sound, from Latin son?re, from sonus a sound] ?soundable adjsound (sa?nd) adj1. free from damage, injury, decay, etc2. firm; solid; substantial: a sound basis. 3. (Banking & Finance) financially safe or stable: a sound investment. 4. showing good judgment or reasoning; sensible; wise: sound advice. 5. valid, logical, or justifiable: a sound argument. 6. holding approved beliefs; ethically correct; upright; honest7. (of sleep) deep; peaceful; unbroken8. thorough; complete: a sound examination. 9. informal Brit excellent10. (Law) law (of a title, etc) free from defect; legally valid11. constituting a valid and justifiable application of correct principles; orthodox: sound theology. 12. (Logic) logic a. (of a deductive argument) validb. (of an inductive argument) according with whatever principles ensure the high probability of the truth of the conclusion given the truth of the premisesc. another word for consistent5badvsoundly; deeply: now archaic except when applied to sleep[Old English sund; related to Old Saxon gisund, Old High German gisunt] ?soundly adv ?soundness nsound (sa?nd) vb1. (Navigation) to measure the depth of (a well, the sea, etc) by lowering a plumb line, by sonar, etc2. to seek to discover (someone’s views, etc), as by questioning3. (Zoology) (intr) (of a whale, etc) to dive downwards swiftly and deeply4. (Medicine) med a. to probe or explore (a bodily cavity or passage) by means of a soundb. to examine (a patient) by means of percussion and auscultationn (Surgery) med an instrument for insertion into a bodily cavity or passage to dilate strictures, dislodge foreign material, etc[C14: from Old French sonder, from sonde sounding line, probably of Germanic origin; related to Old English sundgyrd sounding pole, Old Norse sund strait, sound4; see swim]sound (sa?nd) n1. (Physical Geography) a relatively narrow channel between two larger areas of sea or between an island and the mainland2. (Physical Geography) an inlet or deep bay of the sea3. (Zoology) the air bladder of a fish[Old English sund swimming, narrow sea; related to Middle Low German sunt strait; see sound3]Sound (sa?nd) n (Placename) the Sound a strait between SW Sweden and Zealand (Denmark), linking the Kattegat with the Baltic: busy shipping lane; spanned by a bridge in 2000. Length of the strait: 113 km (70 miles). Narrowest point: 5 km (3 miles). Danish name: Øresund Swedish name: Öresund Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014sound1 (sa?nd) n. 1. the sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium. 2. mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, traveling in air at a speed of approximately 1087 ft. (331 m) per second at sea level and at other speeds in other media. 3. the particular auditory effect produced by a given source: the sound of fire engines. 4. a noise, vocal utterance, musical tone, or the like: the sounds from the next room. 5. a distinctive, characteristic, or recognizable musical style: the Motown sound. 6. a. speech sound. b. the audible result of an articulation, utterance, or part of an utterance: the th-sound in there. 7. the auditory effect of sound waves as transmitted or recorded by a particular system of sound reproduction. 8. the quality of an event, letter, etc., as it affects a person: I don’t like the sound of that report. 9. the distance within which something can be heard. 10. meaningless noise: all sound and fury. 11. Archaic. a report or rumor. v.i. 12. to make or emit a sound. 13. to give forth a signal, as a call or summons. 14. to convey a certain impression when heard or read: His voice sounded strange. 15. to give a specific sound: to sound loud. 16. to appear; seem: The report sounds true. v.t. 17. to cause to sound: Sound the alarm. 18. to give forth (a sound): The oboe sounded an A. 19. to announce or order by a sound: The bugle sounded retreat. 20. to utter audibly; pronounce: to sound each letter. 21. to examine by percussion or auscultation: to sound a patient’s chest. 22. sound off, Informal. a. to call out one’s name, as at military roll call. b. to call out the cadence as one marches in formation. c. to speak frankly or indiscreetly. d. to exaggerate; boast. [1250?1300; (n.) Middle English soun You use sound as a verb in front of an adjective phrase when you are describing something that you hear.You can also use sound in front of an adjective phrase to describe the impression you have of someone when they speak.You also use sound to describe the impression you have of someone or something that you have just heard about or read about.Be Careful!Don’t use a progressive form. Don’t say, for example, ‘That is sounding nice’.Be Careful!Sound is followed by an adjective, not an adverb. Don’t say ‘That sounds nicely’.You can use sound like and a noun phrase to say that something has a similar sound to something else.You can also use sound like and a noun phrase to say that someone is talking the way another person usually talks.You can use sound like and a noun phrase to say that you think you can recognize what something is, because of its sound.You can also use sound like and a noun phrase to express an opinion about something that someone has just described to you.A sound is something that you can hear. A noise is an unpleasant or unexpected sound. You say that machinery makes a noise. People and animals can also make noises.Sound and noise can both be uncountable nouns.Sound is the general term for what you hear as a result of vibrations travelling through the air, water, etc.Be Careful!When you use sound with this meaning, don’t say ‘the sound’.Don’t use expressions such as ‘much’ or ‘a lot of’ with sound. Don’t say, for example, ‘There was a lot of sound’. Say ‘There was a lot of noise’.