megaphone

[ meg-uh-fohn ]

/ ˈmɛg əˌfoʊn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR megaphone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cone-shaped device for magnifying or directing the voice, chiefly used in addressing a large audience out of doors or in calling to someone at a distance.Compare bullhorn.

verb (used with or without object), meg·a·phoned, meg·a·phon·ing.

to transmit or speak through or as if through a megaphone.

RELATED WORDS

bullhorn, amplifier

Nearby words

Origin of megaphone

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; mega- + -phone

Related formsmeg·a·phon·ic

[meg-uh-fon-ik] /ˌmɛg əˈfɒn ɪk/, adjectivemeg·a·phon·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for megaphone

Gotta have the beret and megaphone if I want people to take me seriously!
Jon Stewart Talks ‘Rosewater’ and the ‘Chickensh-t’ Democrats’ Midterm Massacre|Marlow Stern|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If we want a megaphone to the rest of the world, we must explicitly ask for it by changing that setting ourselves.
You Can’t Have Facebook’s Best Privacy Policy|Dennis Kneale|May 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Turn that megaphone around and use feedback you receive on the crowdsourcing and social media platforms as consumer feedback.
How to Win at Crowdfunding|Bianca Goodloe|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Boulden says the preachers yelled, “we hope you die from breast cancer” through a megaphone.
The Hipster Fred Phelps|Mary Emily O’Hara|December 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Had the word “Jewboys” come from the megaphone of sheriff Bull Connor, that would have been hateful.
The Maslin Stain: A Writer Defends Himself Against the NYT Critic|William Stadiem|February 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Again a question bellowed forth from the megaphone, "Oh, Lucien: where did he hit you?"
William Adolphus Turnpike|William Banks
The coxswain waved his megaphone at our friends in a friendly fashion, and then gave his attention to his crew.
The Eight-Oared Victors|Lester Chadwick
Seizing a megaphone, once again she sprang to the grass before the grandstand.
Mystery Wings|Roy J. Snell
At the central fire station the third alarm came in before the megaphone had repeated the second.
The Firebug|Roy J. Snell
Even Griffith takes a back seat when Barry Nolan picks up the megaphone.
Linda Lee, Incorporated|Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for megaphone

megaphone

/ (ˈmɛɡəˌfəʊn) /

noun

a funnel-shaped instrument used to amplify the voiceSee also loud-hailer

Derived Formsmegaphonic (ˌmɛɡəˈfɒnɪk), adjectivemegaphonically, adverb

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 megaphone

megaphone

1878, coined (perhaps by Thomas Edison, who invented it) from Greek megas "great" (see mega-) + phone "voice" (see fame (n.)). Related: Megaphonic. In Greek, megalophonia meant "grandiloquence," megalophonos "loud-voiced."