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microphone

[mahy-kruh-fohn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR microphone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an instrument capable of transforming sound waves into changes in electric currents or voltage, used in recording or transmitting sound.

Origin of microphone

1875–80; micro-, in sense “enlarging” (extracted from microscope) + -phone

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

Related Words for microphone

bug, wire, megaphone, recorder, amplifier, speaker

Examples from the Web for microphone

Contemporary Examples of microphone

She found a way to make little kitten steps to the microphone in unison with the music.
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?
David Yaffe
December 4, 2014
Both get electronics, but the proffered image for boys is a microphone; for girls, a radio.
Sexism Begins in the Toy Aisle
Nancy Kaffer
November 29, 2014
Yeah, having a microphone and so many people under your control always frightened me.
George Clinton on Industry ‘Mobsters’ and How Nobody Wants to Listen to a Crackhead
Curtis Stephen
November 19, 2014
Barrett had chanced to place a paternal hand on her head as he passed the microphone to the student next to her.
11 Children Shot in Milwaukee, One in Her Grandpa's Lap
Michael Daly
November 12, 2014
After about one minute of rambling, a woman runs up on stage and directs someone to turn his microphone off.
White Supremacist Runs For Senate in Kentucky
Olivia Nuzzi
September 21, 2014

Historical Examples of microphone

The applications of the microphone were soon of great importance.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
He hauled the microphone from its cubby in the dashboard and spoke the code words.
Raiders Invisible
Desmond Winter Hall
He thumbed down the communicator-button and spoke into a microphone.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
When contact had been established, Somers took the microphone and stated their situation.
Death Wish
Robert Sheckley
He located the communicator controls, and picked up the microphone.
The Players
Everett B. Cole

British Dictionary definitions for microphone

microphone

noun

a device used in sound-reproduction systems for converting sound into electrical energy, usually by means of a ribbon or diaphragm set into motion by the sound waves. The vibrations are converted into the equivalent audio-frequency electric currentsInformal name: mike See also carbon microphone Compare loudspeaker

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 microphone

n.

1680s, "ear trumpet for the hard-of-hearing," coined from Greek mikros "small" (see mica) + phone "sound" (see fame (n.)). Modern meaning dates from 1929, from use in radio broadcasting and movie recording. Earlier, "amplifying telephone transmitter" (1878). Of the two spellings of the short form of the word, mike (1927) is older than mic (1961).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper