What does "decibel" mean?

A common measure of intensity ratio (e.g. for sound) that is one tenth of a bel on the logarithmic intensity scale. It is defined as dB = 10 log₁₀(P₁ / P₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the relative intensities.

What is a synonym for "decibel"?

Common synonyms include: attenuation unit, bel, db, decibels, gain unit, logarithmic unit.

Decibel

/ˈdɛsɪbɛl/ noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A common measure of intensity ratio (e.g. for sound) that is one tenth of a bel on the logarithmic intensity scale. It is defined as dB = 10 log₁₀(P₁ / P₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the relative intensities.
2
a logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

attenuation unit bel db decibels gain unit logarithmic unit

Antonyms

All antonyms

linear pressure unit linear scale linear unit nonlogarithmic unit

Example

More examples

"The decibel scale is logarithmic."

Etymology

From deci- + bel.

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