acoustics

[ uh-koo-stiks ]
See synonyms for acoustics on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (used with a singular verb)Physics. the branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves.

  2. (used with a plural verb) the qualities or characteristics of a room, auditorium, stadium, etc., that determine the audibility or fidelity of sounds in it.

Origin of acoustics

1
First recorded in 1675–85; see origin at acoustic, -ics

Other words from acoustics

  • hy·per·a·cous·tics, noun

Words Nearby acoustics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use acoustics in a sentence

  • Here I've spent heaven knows how much on the acoustics of this theatre, and I can't make out a word she says.

    The Regent | E. Arnold Bennett
  • He had to devise his own governors for the synchronous mechanism, and here his knowledge of acoustics helped him.

  • But the courtrooms are stuffy little dens, illy ventilated, awkwardly placed, and with the poorest of acoustics.

    The Everett massacre | Walker C. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for acoustics

acoustics

/ (əˈkuːstɪks) /


noun
  1. (functioning as singular) the scientific study of sound and sound waves

  2. (functioning as plural) the characteristics of a room, auditorium, etc, that determine the fidelity with which sound can be heard within it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for acoustics

acoustics

[ ə-kōōstĭks ]


  1. Used with a singular verb The scientific study of sound and its transmission.

  2. Used with a plural verb The total effect of sound, especially as produced in an enclosed space.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.