noise
Americannoun
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sound, especially of a loud, harsh, or confused kind.
deafening noises.
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a sound of any kind.
to hear a noise at the door.
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loud shouting, outcry, or clamor.
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a nonharmonious or discordant group of sounds.
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an electric disturbance in a communications system that interferes with or prevents reception of a signal or of information, as the buzz on a telephone or snow on a television screen.
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Informal. extraneous, irrelevant, or meaningless facts, information, statistics, etc..
The noise in the report obscured its useful information.
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Informal. rumor or gossip, especially slander.
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Informal. Usually noises a statement or utterance that hints at or expresses a feeling or intention, especially without action being taken: We’re hearing sympathetic noises from many countries, but haven't received any concrete offers of assistance.
There’s been some angry noise about the new curriculum. He’s making noises to the press about running for mayor.
We’re hearing sympathetic noises from many countries, but haven't received any concrete offers of assistance.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to talk much or publicly.
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to make a noise, outcry, or clamor.
noun
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a sound, esp one that is loud or disturbing
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loud shouting; clamour; din
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any undesired electrical disturbance in a circuit, degrading the useful information in a signal See also signal-to-noise ratio
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undesired or irrelevant elements in a visual image
removing noise from pictures
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talk or interest
noise about strikes
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(plural) conventional comments or sounds conveying a reaction, attitude, feeling, etc
she made sympathetic noises
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to talk a great deal or complain
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informal to give indications of one's intentions
the government is making noises about new social security arrangements
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theatre sounds made offstage intended for the ears of the audience: used as a stage direction
verb
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(tr; usually foll by abroad or about) to spread (news, gossip, etc)
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rare (intr) to talk loudly or at length
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rare (intr) to make a din or outcry; be noisy
Synonym Usage
Noise, clamor, din, hubbub, racket refer to unmusical or confused sounds. Noise is the general word and is applied equally to soft or loud, confused or inharmonious sounds: street noises. Clamor and hubbub are alike in referring to loud noises resulting from shouting, cries, animated or excited tones, and the like; but in clamor the emphasis is on the meaning of the shouting, and in hubbub the emphasis is on the confused mingling of sounds: the clamor of an angry crowd; His voice could be heard above the hubbub. Din suggests a loud, resonant noise, painful if long continued: the din of a boiler works. Racket suggests a loud, confused noise of the kind produced by clatter or percussion: He always makes a racket when he cleans up the dishes. See sound 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of noise
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin nausea “seasickness”; see origin at nausea
Explanation
A noise is any sound. Often, it means a sound people don't like, like the noise of traffic or a barking dog. When someone yells "What is that noise?!" you can be sure they're not happy about what they're hearing. They mean noise as anything too loud or annoying. When it comes to music, people often disagree on what's noise and what isn't. Your noise might be another person's lullaby. A car siren will wake you up, but some noises can be soothing. "White noise" is an electronically generated sound often used to help someone fall asleep.
Vocabulary lists containing noise
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting," a fellow passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
In 2025, researchers from TU Wien and Rice University reported that electrical current moves through these materials with unusually low electrical noise.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
A few years ago, she heard a term that perfectly encapsulated the persistent chatter in her brain: food noise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
"Many of us sleep outside because of the heat. When the drones are flying overhead, making that noise, every night becomes a sleepless night."
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
If we made too much noise we’d have kalte kost.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
A Los Angeles firefighter testified that he saw flashes of light and heard loud noises that sounded like fireworks around midnight near the neighborhood closest to where the blaze sparked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester for the past nine years, until recently, has been making noises for a while about wanting to take over leadership of the Labour Party.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
However, as Northern Ireland staggered on without a power-sharing government, that October Donaldson began to make positive noises about the importance of devolution - a sign of where he saw the party ultimately returning.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
In an actual courtroom, court reporters record nonverbal cues like gestures and transcribe through distracting courtroom noises like coughs or door slams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Then I heard clanking noises in the basement, so I went downstairs.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
It increased the noised around the Dutchman at a time when he needed it least.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Jones tried it on last year and Scotland won at Twickenham, he noised them up again before the 2019 game and Jones' team blew a 31-0 lead.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2022
Sir Henry Simpson had previously allowed it to become noised about that the Duchess would not be delivered for another fortnight.
From Time Magazine Archive
An understanding between Soviet Russia and Turkey, judiciously noised in Europe, might well halt the Dictator, no fool.
From Time Magazine Archive
It might get noised about that the Pontel- liers had met with reverses, and were forced to conduct their manage on a humbler scale than heretofore.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
The tour was just too nice until Skelton and Valetini started noising up the Lions and bringing their enormous physicality to proceedings.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
Musk’s approach to noising up his cars has also created some unexpected issues, like lithium-fueled flatulence.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2023
I started noising around that I was frantic to join ... the Japanese Army.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Because the stars pointed that the end was nearing, the black brood came behind again, and followed, noising.
From The Were-Wolf by Housman, Laurence
That night what was a revival of the great gale took place, belling like bucks about their heads, and noising through the tower in many a voice.
From The Lord of the Sea by Shiel, M. P. (Matthew Phipps)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
