sound effect

American  

[saund i-fekt] / ˈsaʊnd ɪˌfɛkt /

noun

1. any sound, other than music or speech, artificially reproduced to create an effect in a dramatic presentation, as the sound of a storm or a creaking door. SFX

---

sound effect British  

noun

1. any sound artificially produced, reproduced from a recording, etc, to create a theatrical effect, such as the bringing together of two halves of a hollow coconut shell to simulate a horse's gallop; used in plays, films, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of sound effect

First recorded in 1925–30

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sound effect

In his “Phonetic Punctuation,” Borge read a story aloud and gave every comma and period its own sound effect.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

You hear the music of “Auld Lang Syne” on an old-timey organ, while John dons a Scottish accent and spins a tale about beasties while a wind sound effect blows in the background.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025

Barely a second passes without a sound effect — not only beefing up a joke, but often working against it.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

Bernthal was originally given a weighty rubber-like fork to hurl at Odenkirk, but because it didn’t read well on camera, he ended up using a plastic one with a sound effect added in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2023

Me and Carlos had this stupid joke that whenever we were going to a party, we would set our text message alerts to a crazy sound effect.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---