microphone

[ mahy-kruh-fohn ]

/ ˈmaɪ krəˌfoʊn /

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.

Nearby words

microphage, microphagous, microphakia, microphallus, microphanerophyte, microphone, microphonia, microphonic, microphonism, microphotograph, microphotometer

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The microphone cord was snapped but I was able to make repairs.
The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border|Gerald Breckenridge
Mrs. Appleby-Simpkin regained the microphone from the other woman's relaxing grip.
The Ordeal of Colonel Johns|George H. Smith
The impulses received by the microphone in this equipment were recorded on a running tape smoked by an acetylene flame.
America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell
I dropped the microphone and snatched up my robe, knotting its cord about me as I hurried out of my stateroom.
Astounding Stories, April, 1931|Various
He closed that switch and looked up as Admiral Hawarden handed him a microphone.
Man of Many Minds|E. Everett Evans

British Dictionary definitions for microphone

microphone

/ (ˈmaɪkrəˌfəʊn) /

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

microphone

noun

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Origin of microphone

Examples from the Web for microphone

British Dictionary definitions for microphone

microphone

noun