sound off

verb

sounded off; sounding off; sounds off

intransitive verb

1

: to play three chords before and after marching up and down a line of troops during a ceremonial parade or formal guard mount

2

: to count cadence while marching

3

a

: to speak up in a loud voice

b

: to voice one's opinions freely and vigorously

Synonyms

• pipe up
• shoot
• speak out
• speak up
• spout (off)
• talk up

Examples of sound off in a Sentence

she never missed a chance to sound off about the latest “stupid” political decisions

the guard captain commanded each sentry to sound off

Recent Examples on the Web

Soon after, an alert sounded off inside the cockpit of the passenger plane, indicating that another aircraft was nearby, the FAA said. —Juliana Kim, NPR, 29 Mar. 2025

Dimon wasn’t the only CEO sounding off on Wednesday about the risks of a trade war. —Samantha Delouya, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025

Twin Cities voters sound off Klobuchar expected to discuss meeting with Ukrainian president St. Paul, Minneapolis join lawsuit against President Trump Gov. Tim Walz not running for U.S. Senate, spokesperson says Jennifer Jacobs Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News. —Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2025

There’s an option to toggle the sound off and a power saving mode. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sound off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

sound off

verb

1

: to count while marching

2

: to voice one's opinions freely with force