echolocation

[ek-oh-loh-key-shuhn]

noun

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.

echolocation

/ 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

echolocation

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

2. See more at sonar

Word History and Origins

Origin of echolocation¹

First recorded in 1940–45; echo + location

Example Sentences

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

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Movement and sound data showed that the bats used a combination of hearing, sight, and echolocation.

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

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He describes the system as akin to echolocation, used by bats.

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This is simply when nature finds similar solutions to similar problems in evolutionarily distant groups — think about how dolphins and bats each evolved echolocation, despite being unrelated.

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