DECIBEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does decibel mean? 

• DECIBEL (noun)
  The noun DECIBEL has 1 sense:

1. a logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity

  Familiarity information: DECIBEL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECIBEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

dB; decibel

Hypernyms ("decibel" is a kind of...):

sound unit (any acoustic unit of measurement)

 Context examples 

Hazardous sound levels are louder than 80 decibels.

(Noise, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

In the latter context it is equal to ten decibels or to approximately 1.151293 nepers.

(Bel, NCI Thesaurus)