soundboard

noun

sound·​board ˈsau̇n(d)-ˌbȯrd 

plural soundboards

1

: a thin resonant board (such as the belly of a violin) so placed in an instrument as to reinforce its tones by sympathetic vibration see violin illustration

2

: sounding board sense 1a

3

a

: a device for monitoring and mixing (see mix entry 1 sense 2) sounds from various input sources

… the soundboard receives 110 channels for microphone feeds, each capturing musical hues from separate sources.

—Jim Dwyer

b

or sound board : sound card

Lab technicians installed all of the sound boards using the supplied software installation utilities …

—Tom Benford

Examples of soundboard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bunny the dog and her button soundboard became a viral hit on TikTok amid 2020 pandemic lockdowns. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 12 Dec. 2024

The English electronic duo launched the AE series in 2015; the last edition, released in 2020, comprised seven soundboard recordings. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2024

The performance, of course, is a resounding success and as a parting gift, the class is surprised with everything on their Amazon Wish List including brand new dance gear, a piano, a drum set, a full soundboard, and wireless microphones. —Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2024

Rossano was referring to simple and widely available soundboards that typically have round buttons with a word or symbol on top. —Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024

Image: Voicemod Voicemod’s AI voices and real-time voice changing features will all be available, alongside buttons to launch custom soundboard audio that your friends will hear in a party chat. —Tom Warren, The Verge, 18 July 2024

In one experiment, researchers visited the homes of 30 dogs across the country to examine their response to soundboard button recordings. —Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024

In recent years, many every day people have been training their dogs to use the soundboards, repeatedly exposing animals to a variety of words. —Gary Robbins, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024

Scientists have discovered that in addition to 20,000 genes, our genome contains about 3 million sets of instructions on how to express them (akin to dials on a soundboard); together, these cover a quarter of human DNA. —Fyodor Urnov, TIME, 12 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1504, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

soundboard

noun

sound·​board ˈsau̇n(d)-ˌbō(ə)rd 

-ˌbȯ(ə)rd

1

: a thin board under the strings of a musical instrument (as a piano) that vibrates slightly from the sound made by the strings and serves to strengthen the sound given off by the instrument

2

: sounding board sense 1