microphone

American  

[mahy-kruh-fohn] / ˈmaɪ krəˌfoʊn /

noun

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

---

microphone British  

/ 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

---

Etymology

Origin of microphone

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

Explanation

A microphone is an electric device that amplifies the sound of a voice or instrument. If you're going to stand up in front of a large crowd and want to be heard, you better use a microphone. Microphones require electricity and amplifiers to work — what they do is take a sound and convert it into an electrical signal. That signal can then be amplified and sent to a speaker or recorded. Performers can sing softly into a microphone and still be heard clearly by an audience member at the very back of a huge concert hall. The popularity of radio and film inspired this meaning of microphone — originally, the word meant "ear trumpet for the hard-of-hearing."

Example Sentences

But things turned strange the morning of April 12, when the ship's captain announced into a microphone that a passenger had died.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

One hand holding a microphone, the other arm tightly tucked across her chest, she retreated to her zones of rhetorical comfort: grievance, victimhood, outrage.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

A robot pet that can walk into any room of your house, always regarding you with cute camera eyes and sensitive microphone ears, could easily threaten our privacy.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

“At some point you have to stop calling that a coincidence,” said Kennedy, a longtime collaborator of Williams who gave brief remarks before handing him the microphone.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Instead, everyone was staring at Principal Butler, who was still holding the microphone.

From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon