English dictionary · noun

microphone

an instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy

Meaning and definitions

1. an instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy

Connected roots

• micro-

  small

• phon-

  sound, voice

Explore the word family

These words share a recorded root connection. A shared root is a learning clue; it does not establish every step in a word’s history.

• telephone

  a device that transmits speech over distances by converting sound to signals

• microscope

  an instrument for magnifying very small objects

• saxophone

  A single-reed instrument musical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and with a distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards.

• phonetic

  Relating to the sounds of spoken language.

• microcosm

  Human nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature.

• megaphone

  a cone-shaped device for amplifying and directing the voice

• phonograph

  A device that captures sound waves onto an engraved archive; a lathe.

• phonology

  The study of the way sounds function in languages, including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure, and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable) the way sounds function within a given language; a phonological system.

• microbiome

  The genetic information (genomes) of a microbiota.

• microbe

  Any microorganism; (loosely, nonscientifically) especially, a harmful bacterium.

• micrometer

  A device used to measure distance very precisely but within a limited range, especially depth, thickness, and diameter.

• hydrophone

  a transducer that converts underwater sound waves into electrical signals, rather like a microphone

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