sound wave

noun

1

: sound entry 1 sense 1a

2

sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves in any material medium regardless of whether they constitute audible sound

earthquake waves and ultrasonic waves are sometimes called sound waves

Examples of sound wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It's focused on sound waves from the universe's first 400,000 years. —Chandelis Duster, NPR, 20 Mar. 2025

These were: P-waves, which oscillate back and forth similar to how a sound wave propagates; S-waves which oscillate up and down, perpendicular to the direction of travel; and surface waves, which travel along the surface of Mars similar to ripples in a pond. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2025

Ultrasound refers to sound waves with frequencies above the human hearing range, or above 20 kHz. —Jiaxin Zhong, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2025

The theorem—which expresses what the sampling rate needs to be if sound waves are to be reproduced accurately—governed Delilah’s conversion of sound waves into numbers, done by sampling vocal frequencies several thousand times a second. —IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sound wave

• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave
• landgrave
• margrave
• shortwave
• aftershave

Medical Definition

sound wave

noun

1

: sound sense 1

2

sound waves plural : longitudinal pressure waves especially when transmitting audible sound