echo

[ ek-oh ]

/ ˈɛk oʊ /

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See synonyms for: echo / echoed / echoes / echoing on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ech·oes.

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)Classical Mythology. 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)U.S. Aerospace. one of an early series of inflatable passive communications satellites.

a word used in communications to represent the letter E.

verb (used without object), ech·oed, ech·o·ing.

to emit an echo; resound with an echo: The hall echoed with cheers.

to be repeated by or as by an echo: Shouts echoed through the street.

verb (used with object), ech·oed, ech·o·ing.

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.).

OTHER WORDS FOR echo

12, 13 ring, reverberate.

See synonyms for echo on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of echo

1300–50; Middle English ecco<Latin ēchō<Greek, akin to ēchḗ sound

OTHER WORDS FROM echo

ech·o·er, nounech·o·less, adjectiveoutecho, verb (used with object), out·ech·oed, out·ech·o·ing.sub·ech·o, noun, plural sub·ech·oes.

un·ech·oed, adjectiveun·ech·o·ing, adjective

Words nearby echo

echinulate, echinus, echium, echiurid, echiuroid, echo, echo boomer, echocardiogram, echocardiograph, echocardiography, echo chamber

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use echo in a sentence

The discovery of coronavirus in the bathroom of an unoccupied apartment in Guangzhou, China, suggests the airborne pathogen may have wafted upwards through drain pipes, an echo of a large SARS outbreak in Hong Kong 17 years ago.
Scientists found coronavirus in a long-vacant apartment. A possible spreader? ‘Fecal aerosol plumes’|Claire Zillman, reporter|August 27, 2020|Fortune
Between 2011 and 2015, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft mapped the craters of perpetual darkness, and confirmed that they match up with the pattern of radar echoes.
These Images Expose the Dark Side of the Solar System - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Corey S. Powell|August 26, 2020|Nautilus
This could exacerbate the problem Eli Pariser pointed out in The Filter Bubble years ago—that is, the tendency of the modern internet to shunt users into echo chambers where they are shielded from contrary views.
The Anonymous Culture Cops of the Internet - Facts So Romantic|Jesse Singal|August 12, 2020|Nautilus
Around the world, seismometers don’t just pick up loud echoes of earthquakes rumbling through the subsurface.
COVID-19 lockdowns dramatically reduced seismic noise from humans|Carolyn Gramling|July 23, 2020|Science News

Then, they listen for the echoes from the sound waves bouncing off objects in their surroundings.
Scientists Say: Echolocation|Carolyn Wilke|April 27, 2020|Science News For Students
I hope I can be forgiven for finding this echo more than merely coincidental.
Meet Moses the Swashbuckling Israelite|James Romm|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was only one phone left and when it would ring, the bell would echo, oddly, off the walls.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Later in an Echo of Moscow interview Kadyrov said that the operation would be over in 20 minutes.
Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia|Anna Nemtsova|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a grim echo of Michael Brown, the white New York City cop who placed Eric Garner in a banned chokehold wasn't charged.
After No Indictment for Eric Garner Killer, Is NYC the Next Ferguson?|Jacob Siegel|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Echo has documented all the crises of the post-Perestroika era, wars, conflicts, scandals, and protests.
The Kremlin Is Killing Echo of Moscow, Russia’s Last Independent Radio Station|Anna Nemtsova|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The world may end, the heavens fall, yet loving voices would still find an echo in the ruins of the universe.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
"Yes, Alessandro," she answered faintly, the gusts sweeping her voice like a distant echo past him.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
The loping pursuit of that nameless, shapeless Something sounded like an echo in his head.
Uncanny Tales|Various
He was congratulating himself that he might still be in time, when the faint echo of firearms was borne to him on the breeze.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Even the conflict which had raged along the borders of Missouri and Kansas had only come as a faint echo among the Ozarks.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for echo (1 of 4)

echo

/ (ˈɛkəʊ) /

noun plural -oes

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; repercussionthe 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 -oes, -oing or -oed

to resound or cause to resound with an echothe 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

Derived forms of echo

echoing, adjectiveecholess, adjectiveecho-like, adjective

Word Origin for echo

C14: via Latin from Greek ēkhō; related to Greek ēkhē sound

British Dictionary definitions for echo (2 of 4)

Echo¹

/ (ˈɛkəʊ) /

noun

either of two US passive communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 1960

British Dictionary definitions for echo (3 of 4)

Echo²

/ (ˈɛkəʊ) /

noun

Greek myth a nymph who, spurned by Narcissus, pined away until only her voice remained

British Dictionary definitions for echo (4 of 4)

Echo³

/ (ˈɛkəʊ) /

noun

communications code word for the letter e

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

Scientific definitions for echo

echo

[ 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.

echo

OTHER WORDS FOR echo

Origin of echo

OTHER WORDS FROM echo

Words nearby echo

Words related to echo

How to use echo in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for echo (1 of 4)

Derived forms of echo

Word Origin for echo

British Dictionary definitions for echo (2 of 4)

British Dictionary definitions for echo (3 of 4)

British Dictionary definitions for echo (4 of 4)

Scientific definitions for echo