# noise

Pronunciation: say "NOYZ" /nɔɪz/

## Noun

1. A sound or mixture of sounds, especially one that is loud, unwanted, or unpleasant.
   - Simple: A sound or several sounds, especially ones that are loud or unpleasant.
   - _Constant noise from the factory disturbed the whole neighborhood._
   - _She wore earplugs to block out the noise of the airport._
2. Random or unwanted variation in a signal or in data that obscures or distorts the information wanted, such as static or chance fluctuations in measurements.
   - Simple: Random or unwanted changes in signals or data that make useful information harder to identify.
   - _Filtering reduced the noise in the sensor data, revealing a clear trend._
   - _The astronomers stacked hundreds of images to reduce the noise and bring out the faint galaxy._
3. Loud talk, complaint, or fuss about something, often with little real result.
   - Simple: A lot of talk, complaining, or fuss about something, often without much real result.
   - _The committee made a lot of noise but accomplished little._
   - _Despite all the noise from parents about the later start time, the school board kept the schedule as it was._
4. A style of experimental music built from harsh sounds such as static, feedback, and distortion, usually with little melody, rhythm, or harmony.
   - Simple: A kind of experimental music made from harsh sounds like static and feedback instead of tunes.
   - _Critics filed the album under noise rather than conventional rock._
   - _His record collection leans heavily toward noise and drone._
5. Speech that hints at or suggests a particular attitude or opinion. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Talk that hints at a certain attitude or opinion about something.
   - _Officials made conciliatory noises but offered no concrete plan._
   - _Investors took the hawkish noise coming out of the central bank as a sign that rates would rise._

## Verb

7. To spread news of something, passing it along as report, rumor, or gossip.
   - Simple: To tell lots of people about something, often passing it along as gossip or rumor.
   - _Within a week it had been noised abroad that the family was selling the estate._
   - _He was careful not to noise his plans abroad before the contract was signed._

## Verb

6. To make a noise; to produce sound. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To make a sound, especially a loud one.

## Noun

8. Music of any kind, or a performance of it such as a concert; also, a group of musicians who play together, a band. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Music, a concert, or a group of musicians playing together.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The measured level of variation in gene expression among cells of a supposedly identical population, whatever its source.

## Origin

Middle English noyse, noise was borrowed from Old French noise ("a dispute, wrangle, strife, noise"), a word whose own source is unclear. One theory links it to Latin nausia/nausea ("disgust, nausea"), another to Latin noxia ("hurt, harm, injury"); neither fits well in form or in sense.

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