echo
noun
a repetition of sound produced by the reflection of sound waves from a wall, mountain, or other obstructing surface.
echo
American
[ek-oh]
/ ˈɛk oʊ /
noun
-
echoes
plural
-
a repetition of sound produced by the reflection of sound waves from a wall, mountain, or other obstructing surface.
-
a sound heard again near its source after being reflected.
-
any repetition or close imitation, as of the ideas or opinions of another.
-
a person who reflects or imitates another.
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a sympathetic or identical response, as to sentiments expressed.
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a lingering trace or effect.
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(initial capital letter) a mountain nymph who pined away for love of the beautiful youth Narcissus until only her voice remained.
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Cards. the play of a high card and then a low card in the suit led by one's partner as a signal to continue leading the suit, as in bridge, or to lead a trump, as in whist.
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Electronics. the reflection of a radio wave, as in radar or the like.
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(initial capital letter) one of an early series of inflatable passive communications satellites.
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a word used in communications to represent the letter E.
verb (used without object)
-
echoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
echoed,
past participle, past
-
echoing
present participle
-
to emit an echo; resound with an echo.
The hall echoed with cheers.
- Synonyms:
- reverberate, ring
-
to be repeated by or as by an echo.
Shouts echoed through the street.
- Synonyms:
- reverberate, ring
verb (used with object)
-
echoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
echoed,
past participle, past
-
echoing
present participle
-
to repeat by or as by an echo; emit an echo of.
The hall echoes the faintest sounds.
-
to repeat or imitate the words, sentiments, etc., of (a person).
-
to repeat or imitate (words, sentiments, etc.).
Echo
1
British
/ ˈɛkəʊ /
noun
Echo
2
British
/ ˈɛkəʊ /
noun
echo
3
British
/ ˈɛkəʊ /
noun
-
-
the reflection of sound or other radiation by a reflecting medium, esp a solid object
-
the sound so reflected
-
-
a repetition or imitation, esp an unoriginal reproduction of another's opinions
-
something that evokes memories, esp of a particular style or era
-
(sometimes plural) an effect that continues after the original cause has disappeared; repercussion
the echoes of the French Revolution
-
a person who copies another, esp one who obsequiously agrees with another's opinions
-
-
the signal reflected by a radar target
-
the trace produced by such a signal on a radar screen
-
-
the repetition of certain sounds or syllables in a verse line
-
the quiet repetition of a musical phrase
-
Also called: echo organ, echo stop. a manual or stop on an organ that controls a set of quiet pipes that give the illusion of sounding at a distance
-
an electronic effect in recorded music that adds vibration or resonance
verb
-
to resound or cause to resound with an echo
the cave echoed their shouts
-
(intr) (of sounds) to repeat or resound by echoes; reverberate
-
(tr) (of persons) to repeat (words, opinions, etc), in imitation, agreement, or flattery
-
(tr) (of things) to resemble or imitate (another style, earlier model, etc)
-
(tr) (of a computer) to display (a character) on the screen of a visual display unit as a response to receiving that character from a keyboard entry
Echo
4
British
/ ˈɛkəʊ /
noun
echo
Scientific
/ ĕk′ō /
-
A repeated sound that is caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface. The sound is heard more than once because of the time difference between the initial production of the sound waves and their return from the reflecting surface.
-
A wave that carries a signal and is reflected. Echoes of radio signals (carried by electromagnetic waves) are used in radar to detect the location or velocity of distant objects.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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echoernoun
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subechonoun
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outechoverb (used with object)
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echo-likeadjective
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echoingadjective
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echolessadjective
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unechoedadjective
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unechoingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
echosimple
-
echoessimple
-
have echoedperfect
-
has echoedperfect
-
am echoingprogressive
-
are echoingprogressive
-
is echoingprogressive
-
have been echoingperfect progressive
-
has been echoingperfect progressive
Past
-
echoedsimple
-
had echoedperfect
-
was echoingprogressive
-
were echoingprogressive
-
had been echoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of echo
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ecco, from Latin ēchō, from Greek, akin to ēchḗ “sound”
Explanation
An echo is a repetition or imitation of sound. When sound waves hit a hard surface they might reflect, making the sound bounce and repeat. If you agree with someone, you might echo his or her statement. Poet Don Marquis said, “Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.” The word echo came from the Greek word for "sound." In Greek mythology, Echo was a nymph who could only repeat the last words of others. You were frightened when you thought someone was following you, until you realized you were only hearing the echo of your own footsteps.
Vocabulary lists containing echo
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.
See Examples For:
The myth dies hard, and in the internet age, when everyone can find their own echo chamber, it can go on for a long time.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And let’s not forget how, in this particular song, what’s happening is that Mills is singing the same lines as Stipe, just a beat or two slower; it’s not an echo, it’s dissonance.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
The New Zealand landscape does echo the rolling hills of Central California, in a dry season, but it’s a dreary vision, hardly the paradise of Steinbeck’s memory, book or metaphor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The groups can be "echo chambers where everyone just spins each other out about their kids", he says, and suggests having a proper conversation with your child about boundaries, before university starts.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
I shut the front door with the softest of clicks, afraid to hear the emptiness of an echo.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Which leads to Tommy’s last known address, Echo Canyon Farm, a seemingly whole-wheat commune with enough evil secrets to season an entire season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
“In Echo IQ’s case we do not believe it will be a quick or a simple resolution either,” says Petra Capital, downgrading the stock to “sell,” from “hold.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Venice's focus this year on mostly small, art-house films appears to fit the bill for Susan Sarandon, who is appearing in the Italian film "The Echo Chamber" from director Andrea Pallaoro.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Rather, it’s a modest three-bedroom house on the edge of the Echo Mountain forest in Oregon, where Keller took care of her mother and disabled older brother until the end of their lives.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Even up close, Echo was hard to see.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
The deal echoes a multi-billion-dollar agreement that Verizon VZ 0.32%increase; green up pointing triangle and Corning reached earlier this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
There’s the threat itself, which echoes similar ones against HBCUs in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s shooting last September.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
The probe echoes investigations into the deaths of actor Matthew Perry and rapper Mac Miller.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Katherine Leopold, a tutor at Greenwich Business School, echoes this.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
His voice echoes absurdly off the tall stacks, and he ends up covering his mouth and lowering his voice.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who spent time as assistant to Guardiola at Manchester City prior to taking charge of the Gunners, echoed Maresca's faith in his former club's leadership team.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The case echoed other recent cases, including one where an OpenAI agent undergoing a security evaluation broke out of its testing environment and breached systems at AI platform Hugging Face.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
For Cohn, “something echoed there” in the image of the young man, who reminded him of the young, wayward Englishmen of the 1950s.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
He was joined onstage by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who echoed the idea that AI will be integrated into all computing going forward and on all devices.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The sounds burst from a door and echoed inside a piano.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Here’s what I know: There’s a fetus inside a woman’s uterus, and the fetus can communicate in an omniscient, echoing Minnie Mouse voice with its mother.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026
"You're better off being lucky than being smart," Cargil says, echoing something his father used to tell him.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Officials fear those figures could rise dramatically in the coming months, echoing the surge seen between 2013 and 2016.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
On “American Dream,” Mr. Cockrell’s instrument has a slapback effect, as if he’s playing underwater, echoing the lyric’s description of feeling overwhelmed and weighted down by the state of the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The big ones shoot out of their boxes with hollow thumps and explode with echoing claps that set off car alarms.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
