echolocation

[ ek-oh-loh-key-shuhn ]

/ ˌɛk oʊ loʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

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noun

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.

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.

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Origin of echolocation

First recorded in 1940–45; echo + location

Words nearby echolocation

echoic, echoic memory, echoism, echolalia, echolocate, echolocation, echomimia, echomotism, echopathy, echophrasia, echo plate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use echolocation in a sentence

In the late 1960s, Payne was a senior scientist at the Institute for Research in Animal Behavior, studying animal echolocation.
The Man Who Seduced the World with Whale Songs - Issue 105: Whale Songs|Stuart Firestein|September 8, 2021|Nautilus
More than a thousand species use echolocation, but after millions of years of evolution, bats’ brains are especially well optimized for navigation.
Bats’ brains predict their next move during flight|Tatyana Woodall|July 8, 2021|MIT Technology Review
It has an echolocation system through which it finds its way.
The Unlikely Dolphin Rescue Hot Spot: Pakistan|Charu Kasturi|February 2, 2021|Ozy
Many early findings about echolocation — which was discovered in the 1950s — still ring true, Boublil says.
Here’s what bats ‘see’ when they explore the world with sound|Carolyn Wilke|October 29, 2020|Science News For Students

British Dictionary definitions for echolocation

echolocation

/ (ˌɛkəʊləʊˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

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

Scientific definitions for echolocation

echolocation

[ ĕk′ō-lō-kā′shən ]

Sonar, especially of animals, such as bats and toothed whales. See more at sonar.