klaxon

or clax·on

[ klak-suh n ]

/ ˈklæk sən /

noun

a loud electric horn, formerly used on automobiles, trucks, etc., and now often used as a warning signal.

Nearby words

klatsch, klaus, klausenburg, klavern, klavier, klaxon, kleagle, klebs, klebs, edwin, klebs-löffler bacillus, klebsiella

Origin of klaxon

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; formerly trademark

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for klaxon

Old Swainson answered on his Klaxon, and then the liner began to move slowly over the glittering water.
The Air Pirate|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
They consisted of bells, gongs, Klaxon horns, and beautiful rockets that burst in a green flare.
Average Americans|Theodore Roosevelt
Also we used the mellow horn, for our book said that horns of the Klaxon type are not allowed in Switzerland.
The Car That Went Abroad|Albert Bigelow Paine
The plane's klaxon horn wailed through the night with a noise audible for miles.
The Blue Ghost Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin

A klaxon was sounding, and warning lights flashed from the landing slot, to warn ships away from an attempted landing.
Final Weapon|Everett B. Cole

British Dictionary definitions for klaxon

klaxon

claxon

/ (ˈklæksən) /

noun

a type of loud horn formerly used on motor vehicles

Word Origin for klaxon

C20: former trademark, from the name of the manufacturing company

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

Word Origin and History for klaxon

klaxon

"loud warning horn," 1908, originally on automobiles, said to have been named for the company that sold them (The Klaxon Company; distributor for Lovell-McConnell Mfg. Co., Newark, N.J.), but probably the company was named for the horn, which bore a word likely based on Greek klazein "to roar," cognate with Latin clangere "to resound."