reverb

noun

re·​verb ˈrē-ˌvərb  ri-ˈvərb 

plural reverbs

1

: an electronically produced echo effect in live and recorded music

The new record is shrouded in damp clouds of reverb, with faint impressions of its jangling guitars sneaking through like the sun behind an overcast sky.

—Jude Noel

[Lykke] Li's vocals are soaked in reverb, guitars and drums echoing in the background, turning the song into a dark, emotional plea from a heartbroken lover.

—Shaina Pearlman

The audience will hear the orchestra acoustically and the effects pedals through the amplification system. Those effects will include vibrato, distortions, pitch and timbral modulations, echoes and reverbs.

—Kerry Clawson

a reverb effect/sound

2

: something (such as a device, a feature, or a software application) for producing reverb

Thankfully, Vox added a built-in reverb into the amp …

—Alexander Briones

—usually used before another noun

analog/digital reverb units

adjusted the reverb settings

When you buy a reverb pedal, there's almost always a knob that lets you select the type of reverb that you want.

—Michael Pierce and Giulio Chiarenza

Examples of reverb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The band delivered a tight 90-minute set complete with jam sessions, echoing reverb, ground-thumping bass licks and raw, electric guitar riffs that could have soared on perpetually. —Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2024

The lo-fi minimalism of her previous records has ceded to a gaseous soft-pop idyll in which strummed chords fan out like galaxies and endless reverb signals the unfathomable reach of the infinite. —Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024

Where previously players could only activate one effect at a time, up to four effects can now sound simultaneously – with users able to choose from chorus, vibrato, flanger, delay (with tap tempo), reverb (acoustic, hall or plate) and tremolo (sine/triangle) out of the box. —Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2024

Studio tries to simulate a professional studio by reducing background noise and reverb. —Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for reverberation

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined at sense 1