geophone

[ jee-uh-fohn ]

noun
  1. a device that is placed on or in the ground and used to detect seismic waves.

Origin of geophone

1
First recorded in 1915–20; geo- + -phone

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

How to use geophone in a sentence

  • If desired, holes may be bored from the ends of these listening-galleries and geophones placed in them.

    Fighting the Boche Underground | Harry Davis Trounce

Scientific definitions for geophone

geophone

[ ə-fōn′ ]


  1. An electronic receiver designed to pick up seismic vibrations on or below the Earth's surface and to convert them into electric impulses that are proportional to the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of ground movement. Geophones detect motion in only one direction and are usually used in groups of at least three, oriented at different angles, so that a three-dimensional record of ground movement can be obtained.

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