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Synonyms

sound bite

American  

noun

  1. a brief, striking remark or statement excerpted from an audiotape or videotape for insertion in a broadcast news story.

sound bite British  

noun

  1. a short pithy sentence or phrase extracted from a longer speech for use on radio or television

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sound bite Idioms  

  1. A short, striking, quotable statement well suited to a television news program. For example, He's extremely good at sound bites, but a really substantive speech is beyond him. This slangy expression, first recorded in 1980, originated in political campaigns in which candidates tried to get across a particular message or get publicity by having it picked up in newscasts.

Etymology

Origin of sound bite

First recorded in 1985–90

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.

“Their window just went from having 30 minutes on ‘Morning Joe,’ where influencers are, to 35 seconds on a morning show or maybe a sound bite on ‘NBC Nightly News.’

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025

Actress Lesley Ann Warren, who received an Oscar nomination for her role in the film version, gets a sound bite with her insightful comment about the film’s depiction of gender.

From Salon • Aug. 27, 2024

Another consideration is that the Manhattan case, which is being brought by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is not easily explained in a sound bite or a 30-second ad.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2024

Nevertheless, the academics tried to offer careful, nuanced answers to hypothetical questions and ended up on the wrong end of a sound bite.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2024

But the sound bite won’t let me forget it.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

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.