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echolocation

[ek-oh-loh-key-shuhn]

noun

  1. the general method of locating objects by determining the time for an echo to return and the direction from which it returns, as by radar or sonar.

  2. Zoology.,  the sonarlike system used by dolphins, bats, and other animals to detect and locate objects by emitting usually high-pitched sounds that reflect off the object and return to the animal's ears or other sensory receptors.



echolocation

/ ˌɛkəʊləʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

  1. determination of the position of an object by measuring the time taken for an echo to return from it and its direction

“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

echolocation

  1. Sonar, especially of animals, such as bats and toothed whales.

  2. See more at sonar

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Word History and Origins

Origin of echolocation1

First recorded in 1940–45; echo + location
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Nearly blind, they rely on echolocation - high-pitched sound pulses that bounce off objects and return as echoes - to navigate murky waters.

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He describes the system as akin to echolocation, used by bats.

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This is simply when nature finds similar solutions to similar problems in evolutionarily distant groups — think about how dolphins and bats each evolved echolocation, despite being unrelated.

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Basically, where head position and forward eyes is thought to be important for the development of gaze following, in dolphins which use echolocation to recognize objects, it may have evolved in a different way.

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Dolphins and bats both utilizing echolocation or birds and bugs both having wings are other examples of convergent evolution.

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echolocateecho plate