stereo

a combining form borrowed from Greek, where it meant “solid”, used with reference to hardness, solidity, three-dimensionality in the formation of compound words: stereochemistry; stereogram; stereoscope.

Also, especially before a vowel, stere-.

Origin:
< Greek stereós

stereotype.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To stereo

Collins

World English Dictionary

stereo (ˈstɛrɪəʊ, ˈstɪər-)

—*adj*
1.	stereophonic short for stereoscopic

—n , stereos
2.	stereophonic sound: to broadcast in stereo
3.	a stereophonic record player, tape recorder, etc
4.	photog
	a. stereoscopic photography
	b. a stereoscopic photograph
5.	printing short for stereotype

[C20: shortened form]

stereo- or (sometimes before a vowel) stere-

—*combining form*
	indicating three-dimensional quality or solidity: stereoscope

[from Greek stereos solid]

stere- or (sometimes before a vowel) stere-

—*combining form*

[from Greek stereos solid]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

stereo

1823 as a shortening of stereotype; 1876 from stereoscope (1838); 1954 (adj.) as a shortening of stereophonic (1927); the noun meaning "stereophonic record or tape player" is recorded from 1964.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

stereo- pref.

Solid; solid body: stereotropism.
Three-dimensional: stereochemistry.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

stereo
stereophonic

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

stereo

equipment for sound recording and reproduction that utilizes two or more independent channels of information. Separate microphones are used in recording and separate speakers in reproduction; they are arranged to produce a sense of recording-hall acoustics and of the location of instruments within an orchestra. The effectiveness of stereophonic reproduction was demonstrated as early as 1933. Two-track stereophonic tape for the home became common in the 1950s and the stereophonic phonograph record, with two separate channels of information recorded in a single groove, in 1958. In the early 1970s, quadraphonic sound systems, employing four independent channels of information for even greater realism, became commercially available and later led to "surround-sound" systems

Learn more about stereo with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Timing is everything for sharks that smell in stereo.

It was a colored flexi disk of one of the moon landings on a stereo that only

existed to play those records.

Some allow you to control the player via the car's stereo.

Your old ability to see in stereo vision has deserted you.

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high-end hook multidirectional quadraphonic uptrade Walkman

Matching Quote

"Why do our bodies wear out? Why can't we just go on and on and on, accumulating a potentially infinite number of Frequent Flyer mileage points? These are the kinds of questions that philosophers have been asking ever since they realized that being a philosopher did not involve any heavy lifting. And yet the answer is really very simple. Our bodies are mechanical devices, they break down. Some devices, such as battery-operated toys costing $39.95, break down almost instantly upon exposure to the Earth's atmosphere. Other devices, such as stereo systems owned by your next-door neighbor's 13-year-old son who likes to listen to bands with names like "Nerve Damage," at a volume capable of disintegrating limestone, will continue to function perfectly for many years, even if you hit them with an ax. But the fundamental law of physics is that sooner or later every mechanism ceases to function for one reason or another, and it is never covered under the warranty."

-Dave Barry

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