reverberate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to reecho or resound.
Her singing reverberated through the house.
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Physics. to be reflected many times, as sound waves from the walls of a confined space.
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to rebound or recoil.
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to be deflected, as flame in a reverberatory furnace.
verb (used with object)
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to echo back or reecho (sound).
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to cast back or reflect (light, heat, etc.).
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to subject to reflected heat, as in a reverberatory furnace.
adjective
verb
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(intr) to resound or re-echo
the explosion reverberated through the castle
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to reflect or be reflected many times
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(intr) to rebound or recoil
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(intr) (of the flame or heat in a reverberatory furnace) to be deflected onto the metal or ore on the hearth
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(tr) to heat, melt, or refine (a metal or ore) in a reverberatory furnace
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reverberate
First recorded in 1540–50, reverberate is from the Latin word reverberātus (past participle of reverberāre to strike back). See reverberant, -ate 1
Explanation
If you give a loud shout in a cavernous place, like a gym or a church, the sound of your voice will reverberate throughout the room. Reverberate means sound waves traveling back and forth, as in an echo. Often we use reverberate to talk about sound, or sometimes light. If a noise echoes for a long time, we can say the space reverberates with that noise. You may have heard of a reverb effect in audio processing, which is basically a long echo. We also use the word metaphorically to describe the impact of huge events. For example, the 2008 mortgage crisis in the U.S. reverberated throughout the world’s economy, causing a global recession.
Vocabulary lists containing reverberate
Grade 9, List 2
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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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.
When it makes mistakes, the costs are felt nationally and reverberate internationally.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Whatever happens next, the precedent of a toll booth in open waters will reverberate across a world order the U.S. helped build.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Emotion that didn't just reverberate around Scotland, but the world.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Montiel, 62, said Chavez’s legacy continues to reverberate as the union has pushed for improved working conditions for people laboring in extreme heat, at times without adequate breaks or water.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
A tremor of fear passed through Nina, and she felt it reverberate through the Grisha in the cell, a warning call none of them were free to heed.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
