# acoustic

Pronunciation: say "uh-KOO-stik" /əˈkuː.stɪk/

## Adjective

1. Producing sound naturally, or produced naturally by an instrument, without electric amplification and without needing it.
   - Simple: Making its sound in a natural way, with no electric amplifier, or describing music played like that.
   - _She swapped her electric guitar for an acoustic one for the quieter songs._
   - _The concert closed with a short acoustic set, just a grand piano and one voice._
4. Relating to the sense of hearing, to the organs of hearing such as the ear, or to the science of sound.
   - Simple: Having to do with hearing, the parts of the body we hear with, or the study of sound.
   - _Damage to the acoustic nerve can leave a person with permanent hearing loss._
   - _Her lab studies the acoustic signals that frogs use to recognize members of their own species._
5. Of a device or system: operating by means of sound energy.
   - Simple: Describes a machine or system that works by using sound.
   - _Researchers lowered acoustic sensors to the seabed to record whale calls._
   - _An acoustic depth sounder times how long a pulse of sound takes to bounce back from the bottom._
6. Of building materials: used to soundproof a space or to change how sound behaves within it.
   - Simple: Used in buildings to block sound or to change the way sound behaves in a room.
   - _The studio walls are lined with acoustic foam to cut down on echoes._
   - _Contractors installed acoustic insulation between the apartments to block noise from upstairs._
7. Of an explosive mine or other weapon: capable of being set off by sound waves.
   - Simple: Describes a mine or other weapon that explodes when it picks up sound.
   - _The minesweeper towed a noisemaker to detonate any acoustic mines ahead of the convoy._
   - _The ships crept through the strait at low speed, trying to stay too quiet to trigger an acoustic mine._
8. Not electric but mechanical, said of an ordinary machine to set it apart from an electric version.
   - Simple: Not electric. People say it, often as a joke, about a normal bike or other machine.
   - _The shop by the beach rents electric and acoustic bicycles by the hour._
   - _Half the riders on the bridge had e-bikes, and I was puffing along on an acoustic bike._

## Noun

2. Clipping of acoustic guitar. — Clipping of acoustic guitar.
   - Simple: Short for acoustic guitar. Guitar players often use this shorter word.
   - _For the folk numbers she switched from her electric to an acoustic._
   - _He keeps a battered acoustic by the couch and plays it most evenings._
3. The properties of a room or building that determine how sound travels through it.
   - Simple: The qualities of a room or building that decide how sound travels inside it.
   - _Engineers spent months adjusting the acoustics of the new concert hall._
   - _The recital room has a dry acoustic, so every wrong note is easy to hear._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Euphemistic form of autistic.
- (noun) A medicine or other agent to assist hearing.

## Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, from Ancient Greek akoustikós ("of or for hearing"), from akoúō ("to hear") plus an adjective-forming suffix.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/acoustic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).