echolocation

American  

[ek-oh-loh-kay-shuhn] / ˌɛk oʊ loʊˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• echolocations
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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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echolocation British  

/ ˌɛkəʊləʊˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. determination of the position of an object by measuring the time taken for an echo to return from it and its direction

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echolocation Scientific  

/ ĕk′ō-lō-kā′shən /

1. Sonar, especially of animals, such as bats and toothed whales.

2. See more at sonar

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• echolocations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of echolocation

First recorded in 1940–45; echo + location

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Explanation

Echolocation is what some animals use to locate objects with sound rather than sight. Bats, for example, use echolocation to find food and avoid flying into trees in the dark. Echolocation involves making a sound and determining what objects are nearby based on its echos. Many animals use echolocation, including dolphins and whales, and humans do as well. Some blind people use taps or clicks and the resulting sound waves to navigate, and sonar uses echolocation to steer submarines through deep, dark water. The noun echolocation dates from the mid-twentieth century, a combination of echo, from the Greek ekhe, "sound," and location, with the Latin root locus, "a place."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

echolocation

That means a lot of engineering is going into the small and nimble robot, including acoustic sensing that works like echolocation and a pulsing laser light to map the environment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The findings also provide new clues about the origins of two of bats' defining features: powered flight and echolocation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Their success depends on powerful, low-frequency echolocation calls that can detect birds at long distances.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025

Nearly blind, they rely on echolocation - high-pitched sound pulses that bounce off objects and return as echoes - to navigate murky waters.

From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2025

Gregor had read the card on echolocation about a billion times waiting for Boots to get tired of the bats.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

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