sound bite
- a brief, striking remark or statement excerpted from an audiotape or videotape for insertion in a broadcast news story.
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Origin of sound bite
First recorded in 1985–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sound bite
Contemporary Examples
Bachmann won the sound-bite war, and that, at this stage, is what counts.
He came off as authentic, and cognizant that policy is often much more complex than sound-bite politics.
sound bite
- a short pithy sentence or phrase extracted from a longer speech for use on radio or television
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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
Idioms and Phrases with sound bite
sound bite
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.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.