sounds

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of sound.

   The forest was full of unfamiliar sounds after dark.

   She recorded the sounds of the rainstorm for her music project.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable uses of sound: separate noises heard one after another, the speech sounds a phonetician counts in a language, or the distinctive styles of several bands. Where sound means the physical phenomenon or earshot, English keeps it singular: sound travels, within sound of the bells. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so the sounds of the city and it sounds right differ in grammar, not spelling.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of sound.

   His explanation sounds reasonable until you check the figures.

   The alarm sounds whenever the back door is opened.

   Note

   One spelling does quite different jobs. As a linking verb it takes an adjective, not an adverb: the plan sounds risky, her voice sounds tired. As an ordinary verb it describes making noise, either on its own (the bell sounds at noon) or with an object (the guard sounds the alarm). Legal writing adds a specialist use, where a claim sounds in a particular area of law, such as tort.

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