side-scan sonar

noun

ˈsīd-ˌskan-

: a sonar that scans the ocean floor to the side of a ship's track and is used especially for mapping the ocean bottom

Examples of side-scan sonar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The natural resources department said multiple other emergency agencies assisted them by deploying boats equipped with side-scan sonar and helicopters for search and rescue missions. —

Dalia Faheid, CNN, 20 Oct. 2024 In 2022 and 2023, the team began using side-scan sonar to study the seafloor. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Sep. 2024 The Port Police deployed a vessel equipped with side-scan sonar for further underwater searching. —

Nathaniel Percy, Orange County Register, 1 Aug. 2024 Maritime historians with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association used historical records and a homemade side-scan sonar device to find the lost ship earlier this year, according to an announcement this week. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for side-scan sonar

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of side-scan sonar was in 1967

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Side-scan sonar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/side-scan%20sonar. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

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