microphone

[ mahy-kruh-fohn ]

See synonyms for microphone on Thesaurus.com

noun

an instrument capable of transforming sound waves into changes in electric currents or voltage, used in recording or transmitting sound.

Origin of microphone

1875–80; micro-, in sense “enlarging” (extracted from microscope) + -phone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use microphone in a sentence

First, the folks with the microphones and tape recorders focused obsessively on individual moral actors.
How the Media Failed to Nail the NFL | Steve Almond | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Basic journalistic equipment was paraded before the court as if cameras and microphones were subversive weapons.
Egyptian Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences for Al-Jazeera Journalists | Jesse Rosenfeld | June 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But most hosts wield long-stemmed microphones in their left hand and vote with their right.
Why Game-Show Hosts Vote Republican | Rebecca Dana | May 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The microphones in the chamber were off so that what she was saying was unintelligible on the floor and to viewers on C-SPAN.
Stenographer Starts Shouting During Debt Limit Vote | Ben Jacobs | October 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The microphones in the chamber were off during the vote so that what she was saying was unintelligible on the floor.
Inside the GOP Surrender | Ben Jacobs | October 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

It had grillwork on either side of its head, which probably covered microphones, and another grillwork where the mouth should be.
Unwise Child | Gordon Randall Garrett
The sounds were extremely feeble, however, but the transmitting microphones proved the best articulating ones.
Heroes of the Telegraph | J. Munro
There was an angry turmoil in the microphones and the green dancer seemed convulsed in agony.
The Brain | Alexander Blade
Newlin adjusted the throat microphones and headsets in their plastic helmets to make for easier conversation.
Shock Treatment | Stanley Mullen
Their helmet microphones picked up and amplified a curious droning buzz.
Shock Treatment | Stanley Mullen

British Dictionary definitions for microphone

microphone

/ (ˈmaɪkrəˌfəʊn) /

noun

a device used in sound-reproduction systems for converting sound into electrical energy, usually by means of a ribbon or diaphragm set into motion by the sound waves. The vibrations are converted into the equivalent audio-frequency electric currents: Informal name: mike See also carbon microphone Compare loudspeaker

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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