echolocation

noun

echo·​lo·​ca·​tion ˌe-kō-lō-ˈkā-shən 

: a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as a bat) from the objects

Examples of echolocation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The breakthrough by a team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) mimics how bats rely on simple echolocation to move through dark, cluttered environments with minimal neural processing. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026

Bats do not rely only on vision and instead use echolocation to perceive the world. —Nitin Sanket, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026

The initial pulses of noise reflects off objects to effectively paint an image, in a process known as echolocation. —James Dwyer, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026

In 2025, the Ig Nobel Prize in aviation went to a group of scientists who investigated ethanol ingestion and its effects on flight performance and echolocation in Egyptian fruit bats. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1944, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for echolocation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

echolocation

noun

echo·​lo·​ca·​tion ˌek-ō-lō-ˈkā-shən 

: a process for locating distant or invisible objects by means of sound waves reflected back to the sender from the objects