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• radio
  radio

  noun

  wireless telegraphy or telephony.
• radio-
  radio-

  a combining form with the meanings “dealing with radiant energy” (radiometer ), “employing or dealing with radio waves” (radioacoustics; radiolocation; radiotelephone ), “emitting rays as a result of the breakup of atomic nuclei” (radioactive; radiocarbon ), “characterized by, employing or dealing with such rays” (radiography; radiopaque; radiotherapy ).

radio

¹ American  

[ray-dee-oh] / ˈreɪ diˌoʊ /

noun

• radios
  plural

1. wireless telegraphy or telephony.

   speeches broadcast by radio.

2. an apparatus for receiving or transmitting radio broadcasts.

3. a message transmitted by radio.

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adjective

1. pertaining to, used in, or sent by radio.

2. pertaining to or employing radiations, as of electrical energy.

verb (used with object)

• radios,
  present (3rd person singular)
• radioed,
  past participle,  past
• radioing
  present participle

1. to transmit (a message, music, etc.) by radio.

2. to send a message to (a person) by radio.

verb (used without object)

• radios,
  present (3rd person singular)
• radioed,
  past participle,  past
• radioing
  present participle

1. to transmit a message, music, etc., by radio.

radio- ² American  

1. a combining form with the meanings “dealing with radiant energy” (radiometer ), “employing or dealing with radio waves” (radioacoustics; radiolocation; radiotelephone ), “emitting rays as a result of the breakup of atomic nuclei” (radioactive; radiocarbon ), “characterized by, employing or dealing with such rays” (radiography; radiopaque; radiotherapy ).

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radio ¹ British  

/ ˈreɪdɪəʊ /

noun

1. the use of electromagnetic waves, lying in the radio-frequency range, for broadcasting, two-way communications, etc

2. Also called (esp Brit): wireless. an electronic device designed to receive, demodulate, and amplify radio signals from sound broadcasting stations, etc

3. a similar device permitting both transmission and reception of radio signals for two-way communications

4. the broadcasting, content, etc, of sound radio programmes

   he thinks radio is poor these days

5. 1. the occupation or profession concerned with any aspect of the broadcasting of sound radio programmes

      he's in radio

   2. (modifier) relating to, produced for, or transmitted by sound radio

      radio drama

6. short for radiotelegraph radiotelegraphy radiotelephone

7. (modifier)

   1. of, relating to, employed in, or sent by radio signals

      a radio station

   2. of, concerned with, using, or operated by radio frequencies

      radio spectrum

8. (modifier) (of a motor vehicle) equipped with a radio for communication

   radio car

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verb

1. to transmit (a message) to (a person, radio station, etc) by means of radio waves

radio- ² British  

combining form

1. denoting radio, broadcasting, or radio frequency

   radiogram

2. indicating radioactivity or radiation

   radiochemistry

   radiolucent

3. indicating a radioactive isotope or substance

   radioactinium

   radiothorium

   radioelement

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radio Scientific  

/ rā′dē-ō /

1. The equipment used to generate, alter, transmit, and receive radio waves so that they carry information.

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1. Relating to or involving the emission of radio waves.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preradio
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• radios
  plural

Participles

• radioing
  present
• radioed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• radio
  simple
• radios
  simple
• have radioed
  perfect
• has radioed
  perfect
• am radioing
  progressive
• are radioing
  progressive
• is radioing
  progressive
• have been radioing
  perfect progressive
• has been radioing
  perfect progressive

Past

• radioed
  simple
• had radioed
  perfect
• was radioing
  progressive
• were radioing
  progressive
• had been radioing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will radio
  simple
• will have radioed
  perfect
• will be radioing
  progressive
• will have been radioing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of radio¹

1910–15; shortening of radiotelegraph or radiotelegraphy

Origin of radio-²

< French, combining form representing Latin radius beam, ray, radius

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Explanation

Radio is a way of transmitting sound using electromagnetic waves called radio waves. Nowadays, people usually only listen to the radio as they drive, but — before television — radio provided prime-time entertainment. When you turn on your car radio, you probably take for granted the many choices of music and talk stations you can choose from. The radio's electronic components do the amazing job of catching fast-moving radio waves in the air and translating them into sounds you can hear. Radios were originally called wireless because they transmit energy using waves instead of wires. The Latin root of radio is radius, "beam."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

radio radio- radios radioed radioing

He sobbed over the radio inside his helmet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

I was a kid driving a tractor, listening to a transistor radio hanging from my umbrella, and I said, “That’s the guy I want to write songs for.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Antonelli had tears mixed with laughter over the radio on the slowing down lap as he proved initially incapable of talking when his team told him he was world champion.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

"For three quarters now, there has been no growth," Finance Minister Roland Lescure told France Info radio.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

In an instant every bench would be filled, the only sound the businesslike rattle of radio parts.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Surgery cures most breast cancer - but if some disease remains, chemo-, radio- and endocrine therapy can reduce the long-term risk of dying.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2023

The cooling water picks up radio- nuclides, many of which are then captured by a specially developed filtering process.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 23, 2023

This 263-dish radio- and millimeter-wave interferometer will observe star-forming regions, active black holes and light associated with exploding stars with 10 times the sensitivity and resolution of the VLA.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 16, 2021

Crestview, a New York-based private-equity firm, created a strategic partnership with Cumulus in April to invest in radio- broadcasting companies.

From BusinessWeek ● Mar. 10, 2011

All these consequences of radiation have been duplicated in laboratory studies by a large group of chemicals known as radio- mimetic or radiation-imitating.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Watch Duty does pull information from official sources but also relies on staff and volunteers to listen to radios, monitor satellite data and analyze announcements from emergency departments to provide additional context.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Robert Dyas reported a 160% increase in sales of radios compared with last week, while Maplin said sales had increased by 92% in radios, 284% in torches and 106% in power banks.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

From politicians shouting from a podium, to passing cars with turned-up radios, to kids screaming at their teachers and sometimes their parents—these noises seem increasingly common.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The soldiers carried Wi-Fi-capable radios that linked together to form a mobile network, converting their voices into digital signals so they could communicate through headsets much like on a Zoom call.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

It seemed less likely that anyone would listen to these radios.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

He had no idea until one of the other choppers radioed him to tell him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Antonelli was closing at such a pace that a win seemed inevitable, but then he radioed that something was wrong with his car and he couldn't steer.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“You are all set to go,” a U.S. military officer radioed as the ship glided through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and swung around the peninsula at the northern end of Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Minutes earlier, the pilot radioed in to staff at the tower, SoCal Approach, asking if a drone was near that location.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

They radioed their commanding officer and asked what he wanted them to do.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

“Avoid the area ahead, it’s a hot area now,” Kuwaiti controllers are heard radioing to a pilot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

"As soon as I stepped my foot over the threshold of the door, they were radioing each other and they all surrounded me and were like 'you need to leave the store'," she said.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025

Moments after the capsule reached orbit, a SpaceX mission control manager was heard jokingly radioing to the crew: "If you enjoyed your ride, please don't forget to give us five stars."

From Reuters ● Mar. 2, 2023

I call on the way and, like the pilot of a stricken plane radioing ahead with an order to foam the runway, I request that they get some drum hardware bags ready for me.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2022

So Teddy was the one who first spoke the words in our code, radioing back to General Smith at his command post on the beach.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

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Related Words

• transmission
• wireless

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