acoustic

adjective
acous·​tic | \ ə-ˈküs-tik How to pronounce acoustic (audio) \
variants: or acoustical \ -​ti-​kəl How to pronounce acoustical (audio) \

Definition of acoustic

1 : of or relating to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds acoustic apparatus of the ear acoustic energy : such as
a : deadening or absorbing sound acoustic tile
b : operated by or utilizing sound waves
2 : of, relating to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electronically modified

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Other Words from acoustic

acoustically \ -​k(ə-​)lē How to pronounce acoustically (audio) \ adverb

Synonyms & Antonyms for acoustic

Synonyms

audial, audile, auditory, aural, auricular

Antonyms

nonauditory

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Examples of acoustic in a Sentence

the acoustic properties of a room She loves listening to acoustic folk music. an acoustic performance of a rock-and-roll song
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Recent Examples on the Web

The gunshot detection system uses acoustic sensors to identify when a gun has been fired and find the location of the shots, the release stated. Saja Hindi, The Denver Post, "Denver police to test gunshot detection system Monday in downtown, west Denver," 25 Aug. 2019 Owing's crab transmitters give off a series of acoustic pings every 45 seconds. Caren Chesler, Popular Mechanics, "The Blood of the Crab," 23 Aug. 2019 Steve Lukather limbers up his fingers with a bulky acoustic 12-string, serenading me with Byrds and Led Zeppelin classics. Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, "Starr Man: Inside Ringo's 30-Year Odyssey with His All-Starr Band," 19 Aug. 2019 And common devices all around us can have their speakers manipulated to become acoustic cyber-weapons. Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "Security News This Week: Facebook's Voice Transcripts Were More Invasive Than Amazon's," 17 Aug. 2019 At La Cañada High School, a renovated band room awaited new acoustic wall panels, while new parking lot surfaces still needed to be striped, according to Sinnette. Sara Cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "La Cañada Unified students receive warm welcome to 2019-20 school year," 15 Aug. 2019 The project includes a 13,015-square-foot outdoor stage, acoustic shell and back-of-house facilities for a year-round version of the program formerly known as the Summer Pops. Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Symphony will start building its permanent bayside venue next month," 14 Aug. 2019 Options in development include pop-up buoys that fishermen summon with an acoustic signal and sensors that acoustically identify traps on the ocean floor. Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation, "Saving endangered species: 5 essential reads," 13 Aug. 2019 If anything, set beneath acoustic panels, those seats improve on the Red Rocks experience. Dylan Owens, The Know, "With Mission Ballroom, Denver finally has the concert venue it deserves," 8 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acoustic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of acoustic

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for acoustic

acoustic borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, acūsticus, borrowed from Greek akoustikós, from akoustós "heard, audible" (verbal adjective of akoúein "to hear," going back to Indo-European h2kous-) + -ikos -ic entry 1; acoustical from acoustic + -al entry 1 — more at hear

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More Definitions for acoustic

acoustic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of acoustic

: of or relating to sound or to the sense of hearing
of a musical instrument : not having its sound changed by electrical devices
: made with or using acoustic instruments

acoustic

adjective
acous·​tic | \ ə-ˈkü-stik How to pronounce acoustic (audio) \
variants: or acoustical \ -​sti-​kəl \

Kids Definition of acoustic

1 : of or relating to hearing or sound
2 : not having the sound changed by electrical devices an acoustic guitar

acoustic

adjective
acous·​tic | \ ə-ˈkü-stik How to pronounce acoustic (audio) \
variants: or acoustical \ -​sti-​kəl How to pronounce acoustical (audio) \

Medical Definition of acoustic

: of or relating to the sense or organs of hearing, to sound, or to the science of sounds acoustic apparatus of the ear acoustic energy : as
a : deadening or absorbing sound acoustic tile
b : operated by or utilizing sound waves

Other Words from acoustic

acoustically \ -​k(ə-​)lē How to pronounce acoustically (audio) \ adverb

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