sonogram
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of sonogram
Explanation
In medicine, a sonogram uses sound waves to display an image of some internal part of a person's body. A pregnant woman might have a sonogram to get a picture of her fetus. A sonogram most commonly produces a two-dimensional black and white image — for example, of a fetus inside its mother's uterus. Doctors use sonograms to see organs, tendons, muscles, and joints as well. A sonogram works by bouncing high frequency sounds against tissue and displaying the reflected or echoed image. The word itself combines the Latin sonus, or "sound," and the word-forming suffix -gram.
Vocabulary lists containing sonogram
Common Senses: Son ("Sound")
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Woman Hollering Creek
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Piecing Me Together
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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.
The sonogram made its way through all of the baby-on-board photos.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
When the mother of two showed up bleeding at Houston Methodist Sugar Land in June 2023, at 11 weeks pregnant, her sonogram suggested an “ongoing miscarriage” was “likely,” her doctor noted.
From Salon • Jul. 2, 2025
She showed off a sonogram of the little one too.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2025
Mesnard, who represents a suburban swing district, held up his phone and played a sonogram recording of his daughter’s heartbeat.
From New York Times • May 1, 2024
The sonogram didn’t exist at the time; the spoon was the next best thing.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
