microphone

[mahy-kruh-fohn]

noun

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

microphone

/ ˈmaɪkrəˌfəʊn /

noun

1. Informal name: mike. 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 currents See also carbon microphone Compare loudspeaker

Word History and Origins

Origin of microphone¹

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

Example Sentences

A 15-year-old girl came to the microphone and said the rec center was where she learned to ride a bike and where her brothers played Saturday basketball games.

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People don’t love women in front of a microphone so that right there.

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The PTC also spoke out against media consolidation, which accelerated in the 1990s, “the problem of having too few voices hold the microphone,” Winter said.

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It was just three days earlier when Judge found himself surrounded by cameras and microphones on Saturday, having to explain how he yet again had shrunk when the Yankees needed him most.

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“I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” she said, before trying to remove her microphone.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• mic 
• mike