sound
sound
/saʊnd/
something you hear
a loud/soft/faint sound
a high/low sound
a buzzing/hissing/popping sound
He crept into the house trying not to make a sound.
sound of somebody/something She heard the sound of footsteps outside.
the different sounds and smells of the forest
He could hear the sound of several voices.
sound of somebody/something doing something The sound of children playing in the garden woke me.
A strange sound from the room next door startled her.
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
bigdeafeningloud…
verb + sound
hearlisten forlisten to…
sound + verb
carrytravelcome…
sound + noun
waveeffectbite…
preposition
at the sound ofwithout a soundsound of…
phrases
break the sound barrierthe speed of sound
2 uncountable continuous rapid movements (called vibrations) that travel through air or water and can be heard when they reach a person’s or an animal’s ear Sound travels more slowly than light.
aircraft that can fly faster than the speed of sound
Sound carries well over calm water.
from television/radio
3 uncountable what you can hear coming from a television, radio, etc., or as part of a film Could you turn the sound up/down?
The sound quality of the tapes was excellent.
Is the sound turned on? I can't hear anything.
Even with the sound turned off, television is distracting.
They were known for producing DVDs with good picture and sound.
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
monostereosurround…
verb + sound
turn downturn offturn up…
sound + noun
levelqualitysystem…
See full entry
of musicians
4 countable, uncountable the effect that is produced by the music of a particular singer or group of musicians I like their sound.
Franz Ferdinand have a great sound that's their own.
The Moog synthesizer created a whole new sound.
The band developed a formidable live sound.
We experimented with different sounds.
He has a sound unlike any other guitarist.
Most of their songs have the sound of the sixties about them.
He produces a good clean sound on his flute.
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
livedifferentnew…
verb + sound
createdevelop
impression
5 singular the sound of something the idea or impression that you get of somebody/something from what somebody says or what you read They had a wonderful time by the sound of it.
From the sound of things you were lucky to find him.
They're consulting a lawyer? I don't like the sound of that.
water
6 countable (often in place names) a narrow passage of water that joins two larger areas of water Plymouth Sound
Idioms
sound
/saʊnd/
not usually used in the progressive tenses
give impression
1 linking verb to give a particular impression when heard or read about
+ adj. to sound good/great/right/interesting
His voice sounded strange on the phone.
The economy went into recession and taxpayers ended up footing the bill. Sound familiar (= does that sound familiar)?
I'm about to say something which sounds a bit strange.
Leo made it sound so easy. But it wasn't.
She didn't sound surprised when I told her the news.
All of this sounds a lot worse than it actually is.
His explanation sounds reasonable to me.
He doesn’t sound French—and he doesn’t look it.
+ noun She sounds just the person we need for the job.
sound like somebody/something The pioneering technique sounds like something out of a science fiction film.
You sounded just like your father when you said that.
sound as if/as though… I hope I don’t sound as if/as though I’m criticizing you.
In spoken English people often use like instead of as if or as though, especially in North American English, but this is not considered correct in written British English.
-sounding
2 (in adjectives) giving the impression of having a particular sound
an Italian-sounding name
fine-sounding words
produce sound
The bell sounded for the end of the class.
(British English) sound something Passing motorists sounded their horns in support.
give warning/signal
4 transitive sound something to give a signal such as a warning by making a sound When I saw the smoke, I tried to sound the alarm.
(figurative) Scientists have sounded a note of caution on the technique.
Leaving him out of the team may sound the death knell for our chances of winning (= signal the end of our chances).
Wall Street has sounded repeated warnings about rising inflation.
pronounce
5 transitive sound something (specialist) to pronounce something You don't sound the ‘b’ in the word ‘comb’.
measure depth
6 transitive, intransitive sound (something) (specialist) to measure the depth of the sea or a lake by using a line with a weight attached, or an electronic instrument Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
sound
/saʊnd/
reliable
1 sensible; that you can rely on and that will probably give good results
He's a person of very sound judgement.
He gave me some very sound advice.
This gives the design team a sound basis for their work.
The proposal makes sound commercial sense.
Their policies are environmentally sound.
Collocations
verbs
adverb
detailed/complete
a sound knowledge/understanding of something
He has a sound grasp of the issues.
Do you think the evidence is sound?
not damaged/hurt
3 in good condition; not damaged, hurt, etc.
We arrived home safe and sound.
to be of sound mind (= not mentally ill)
The house needs attention but the roof is sound.
The roof is in reasonably sound condition.
sleep
to have a sound night’s sleep
to be a sound sleeper
good, but not excellent
5 good and accurate, but not excellent
a sound piece of writing
a sound tennis player
This was another sound performance by the team.
physical punishment
6 severe
to give somebody a sound beating
Idioms
sound
/saʊnd/
sound asleep very deeply asleep
Word Origin
noun senses 1 to 5 Middle English soun, from Anglo-Norman French soun (noun), suner (verb), from Latin sonus. The form with -d was established in the 16th cent. noun sense 6 Middle English: from Old Norse sund ‘swimming, strait’; related to swim.
Word Origin
verb senses 1 to 5 and sound off. Middle English soun, from Anglo-Norman French soun (noun), suner (verb), from Latin sonus. The form with -d was established in the 16th cent. sound somebody out/sound something out. Middle English: from Old English gesund, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gezond and German gesund. verb sense 6 late Middle English: from Old French sonder, based on Latin sub- ‘below’ + unda ‘wave’.
Word Origin
adjective Middle English: from Old English gesund, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gezond and German gesund.
Word Origin
adverb Middle English: from Old English gesund, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gezond and German gesund.