SOUND WAVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sound wave mean? 

• SOUND WAVE (noun)
  The noun SOUND WAVE has 1 sense:

1. (acoustics) a wave that transmits sound

  Familiarity information: SOUND WAVE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SOUND WAVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(acoustics) a wave that transmits sound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

acoustic wave; sound wave

Hypernyms ("sound wave" is a kind of...):

undulation; wave ((physics) a movement up and down or back and forth)

Domain category:

acoustics (the study of the physical properties of sound)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sound wave"):

air wave (a sound wave that is transmitted via air)

 Context examples 

A procedure that uses ultrasound (high-energy sound waves that are bounced off internal tissues and organs) during surgery.

(Intraoperative ultrasound, NCI Dictionary)

A test that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to create an image of the heart.

(Echocardiography, NCI Thesaurus)

The ultrasound probe is used to bounce high-energy sound waves off internal organs and tissues to make a picture on a monitor.

(Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration, NCI Dictionary)

Sound waves come in through your outer ear.

(Ear Disorders, NIH)

The sound waves are bounced off internal tissues or organs and make echoes.

(Endorectal ultrasound, NCI Dictionary)

The other kind happens when sound waves cannot reach your inner ear.

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

A procedure in which high-energy sound waves are aimed directly at an area of abnormal cells or tissue in the body.

(HIFU, NCI Dictionary)

This can be caused by chemical or physical means (for example, strong detergents or high-energy sound waves) or by infection with a strain of virus that can lyse cells.

(Oncolysis, NCI Dictionary)

The pictures are produced using forms of radiation, such as x-rays, sound waves, or other types of energy.

(Neuroradiologist, NCI Dictionary)

An invasive procedure in which sound waves (called ultrasound) are bounced off of vascular tissues from within the vessel and the echoes produce a picture (sonogram).

(Intravascular Ultrasound, NCI Thesaurus)