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.
-
a sympathetic or identical response, as to sentiments expressed.
-
a lingering trace or effect.
-
(initial capital letter) a mountain nymph who pined away for love of the beautiful youth Narcissus until only her voice remained.
-
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.
-
Electronics. the reflection of a radio wave, as in radar or the like.
-
(initial capital letter) one of an early series of inflatable passive communications satellites.
-
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
-
echoernoun
-
subechonoun
-
outechoverb (used with object)
-
echo-likeadjective
-
echoingadjective
-
echolessadjective
-
unechoedadjective
-
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
His paintings at smoke the moon echo European Impressionism while their frames are ornamented with cast-aluminum sculptures of objects that speak to the artist’s indigenous heritage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Their complaints echo a broader unease that has followed solar's expansion into rural Texas - worries about visual impact, water runoff after land is cleared, and battery storage units that scorch their land.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The sounds of the room echo around us—human footsteps, human laughs, the music on the speakers.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Europe's largest aquarium, Oceanogràfic València in Spain, recorded the death of one beluga, Jelly Bean, and one dolphin, Echo.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
But it could also cause too much friction: I currently ask my Amazon Echo Show what’s on my calendar from across the room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
One canister on a sidewalk in Echo Park was labeled “cherry apple.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 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
“A chance to save him,” Echo said gratefully.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
This discovery has echoes of an earlier find in the same cave, in 1957.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
She had a way of doing that that was distinctly hers, but it echoes in the women and also the men who raised me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Vice Chair Jefferson echoes another central bank official who cast doubt on an October hike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"A storm reveals itself in the faint natural signals it emits and in the echoes returned by the signals we send to prove it," she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
His voice echoes through the empty theater as they stand alone on the stage, Mme.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Nasdaq echoed this point, arguing this shadow market “can become disconnected from the broader market in both pricing and price transparency.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Indeed, without mentioning names, Prime Minister Rama echoed the allegation on Friday.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Officials at the World Petroleum Congress on Monday echoed his message, with many stressing that disrupting Saudi energy supplies would have consequences beyond its borders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 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
Ivan’s next declaration echoed from inside the tree.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Musk posted earlier this week, echoing a joke made by another user.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
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
Residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they had heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through the city after the alerts.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 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
The last of the bear’s roars were echoing through the forest.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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