Sound

/saʊnd/ adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium.
  • Grammar: sound is listed as adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: noise, able to pay, accepted, accurate estimation skill.
  • Useful contrasts: low-quality, weak, abandoned house.
  • Usage evidence: It might sound far-fetched, but this is a real problem.

How to use "sound"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sound" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sound" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sound" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sound" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "sound" is acting as adj, adv, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "noise" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "sound", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium. countable, uncountable

    "He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.  Nobody made a sound."

  2. 2
    A long narrow inlet, or a strait between the mainland and an island; also, a strait connecting two seas, or connecting a sea or lake with the ocean.

    "Puget Sound; Owen Sound; Long Island Sound"

  3. 3
    A long, thin probe for sounding or dilating body cavities or canals such as the urethra; a sonde.

    "Most mild cases respond very nicely to such relatively simple office procedures as dilatations with sounds of increasing calibre, followed by the instillation of an ounce of 5 per cent argyrol in the bladder."

  4. 4
    the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause wordnet
  5. 5
    A vibration capable of causing such sensations. countable, uncountable

    "In trumpets for assisting the hearing, all reverbation of the trumpet must be avoided. It must be made thick, of the least elastic materials, and covered with cloth externally. For all reverbation lasts for a short time, and produces new sounds which mix with those which are coming in."

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    The air bladder of a fish.

    "Cod sounds are an esteemed article of food."

  2. 7
    the subjective sensation of hearing something wordnet
  3. 8
    A distinctive style and sonority of a particular musician, orchestra etc. countable, uncountable

    "He looks like he's got it, maybe. Listen to those kids!/There's no maybe about it. That's it, that's the sound."

  4. 9
    the audible part of a transmitted signal wordnet
  5. 10
    Noise without meaning; empty noise. countable, uncountable

    "For let us conſider this Prepoſition as to its meaning, (for it is the ſence, and not ſound, that is and muſt be the Principle or common Notion) […]"

  6. 11
    (phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language wordnet
  7. 12
    Earshot, distance within which a certain noise may be heard. countable, uncountable

    "Stay within the sound of my voice."

  8. 13
    the sudden occurrence of an audible event wordnet
  9. 14
    A segment as a part of spoken language, the smallest unit of spoken language, a speech sound. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    a large ocean inlet or deep bay wordnet
  11. 16
    a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water wordnet
  12. 17
    mechanical vibrations transmitted by an elastic medium wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To produce a sound. intransitive

    "When the horn sounds, take cover."

  2. 2
    Of a whale, to dive downwards. intransitive

    "The whale sounded and eight hundred feet of heavy line streaked out of the line tub before he ended his dive."

  3. 3
    measure the depth of (a body of water) with a sounding line wordnet
  4. 4
    To convey an impression by one's sound. copulative

    "He sounded good when we last spoke."

  5. 5
    To ascertain, or to try to ascertain, the thoughts, motives, and purposes of (a person); to examine; to try; to test; to probe.

    "When I sounded him, he appeared to favor the proposed deal."

Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    utter with vibrating vocal chords wordnet
  2. 7
    To be conveyed in sound; to be spread or published; to convey intelligence by sound. intransitive

    "For from you ſounded out the worde of the Lord, not in Macedonia & in Achaia onely: but your faith alſo which is towarde God, ſpred abroade in all quarters, that we nede not to ſpeake any thing."

  3. 8
    To fathom or test; to ascertain the depth of water with a sounding line or other device.

    "Mariners on sailing ships would sound the depth of the water with a weighted rope."

  4. 9
    appear in a certain way wordnet
  5. 10
    To resound. intransitive, obsolete
  6. 11
    To examine with the instrument called a sound or sonde, or by auscultation or percussion.

    "to sound a patient, or the bladder or urethra"

  7. 12
    give off a certain sound or sounds wordnet
  8. 13
    To arise or to be recognizable as arising in or from a particular area of law, or as likely to result in a particular kind of legal remedy. intransitive, often

    "In my opinion this claim sounds in damages rather than in an injunction."

  9. 14
    make a certain noise or sound wordnet
  10. 15
    To cause to produce a sound. transitive

    "Sound the alarm!"

  11. 16
    cause to sound wordnet
  12. 17
    To pronounce. transitive

    "The "e" in "house" isn't sounded."

  13. 18
    announce by means of a sound wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Healthy.

    "He was safe and sound."

  2. 2
    Complete, solid, or secure.

    "Fred assured me the floorboards were sound."

  3. 3
    Having the property of soundness.

    "With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]"

  4. 4
    Good; acceptable; decent. British, Ireland, slang

    "How are you? —I'm sound."

  5. 5
    Quiet and deep.

    "Sound asleep means sleeping peacefully, and often deeply."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Heavy; laid on with force.

    "a sound beating"

  2. 7
    Founded in law; legal; valid; not defective.

    "a sound title to land"

Adjective
  1. 1
    complete; thorough wordnet
  2. 2
    (of sleep) deep and complete wordnet
  3. 3
    in excellent physical condition wordnet
  4. 4
    exercising or showing good judgment wordnet
  5. 5
    free from moral defect wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    financially secure and safe wordnet
  2. 7
    in good condition; free from defect or damage or decay wordnet
  3. 8
    vigorous or severe wordnet
  4. 9
    having legal efficacy or force wordnet
  5. 10
    logically valid wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Soundly.

    "So ſound he ſlept, that nought mought him awake."

Intj
  1. 1
    Yes; used to show agreement or understanding. British, Ireland, slang

    "I found my jacket. — Sound."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The strait that separates Zealand (an island of Denmark) from Scania (part of Sweden); also sometimes called by the Danish name, Øresund.
  2. 2
    Synonym of Plymouth Sound, Devon, England.

Synonyms

All synonyms
noiseable to payacceptedaccurate estimation skillaccurate observationsacoustic

Antonyms

low-qualityweakabandoned houseabasic

Example

"It might sound far-fetched, but this is a real problem."

Common questions

What does "sound" mean?

A sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium.

What is a synonym for "sound"?

Common synonyms include: noise, able to pay, accepted, accurate estimation skill, accurate observations, acoustic.

How do you use "sound" in a sentence?

It might sound far-fetched, but this is a real problem.

How do you pronounce "sound"?

Pronounced /saʊnd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *sundaz (“healthy”), merged with synonymous Old English ġesund, from Proto-West Germanic *gasund. Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Possibly related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.

Etymology 2

* Noun: from Middle English sownde, alteration of soun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sun, soun, Old French son, from accusative of Latin sonus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”). * Verb: from Middle English sownden, sounen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suner, sounder, Old French soner (modern sonner), from Latin sonō. * The hypercorrect -d appears in the fifteenth century. (Compare dialectal drownd, gownd for the same development.) Displaced native Middle English swei, from Old English swēġ, from Proto-Germanic *swōgiz.

Etymology 3

From Middle English sound, sund (“body of water; swimming; air bladder of a fish”), from Old English sund (“the power, capacity, or act of swimming; swimming; sea; ocean; water; sound; strait; channel”), Old Norse sund (“channel, inlet, strait”), from Proto-Germanic *sundą (“swimming; sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem- (“swimming; sea”). Cognate with Dutch zond (“sound; strait”), Danish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Swedish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Icelandic sund (“sound; strait; channel”), German Sund. Related to swim.

Etymology 4

From Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde (“sounding line”) of Germanic origin, compare Old English sundgyrd (“a sounding rod”), sundline (“a sounding line”), Old English sund (“water, sea”). More at Etymology 3 above.

Etymology 5

From the common noun sound (“strait, inlet”).

More for "sound"

Synonyms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsBrowse writing guidesExplore topic clusters