Acoustic
//əˈkuː.stɪk// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it. plural-normally
- 2 a remedy for hearing loss or deafness wordnet
- 3 A medicine or other agent to assist hearing.
- 4 Clipping of acoustic guitar. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.; Used for soundproofing or modifying sound. not-comparable
- 2 Euphemistic form of autistic. euphemistic, form-of, offensive
"Implying mathematicians aren't acoustic. I'm an engineer, and even mathematicians freak me out with their autism."
- 3 Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.; Of a device or system, using sound energy in its operation. not-comparable
- 4 Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.; Of an explosive mine or other weapon, able to be set off by sound waves. not-comparable
- 5 Naturally producing or produced by an instrument without electrical amplification or the need thereof. not-comparable
"acoustic guitar, acoustic piano"
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- 6 Nonelectric; mechanical or otherwise basic. humorous, not-comparable, proscribed
"acoustic bike"
Adjective
- 1 of or relating to the science of acoustics wordnet
Example
More examples"If you've got time to play around on an acoustic guitar, practice your bass!"
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, acūsticus, from Ancient Greek ἀκουστῐκός (akoustĭkós, “of or for hearing”), from ἀκούω (akoúō, “to hear”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, adjectival suffix).
Etymology 2
Due to the shared metrical structure of autistic and acoustic. Popularized on TikTok in late October 2023.
Related phrases
More for "acoustic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.