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sound man

American  
Or soundman

noun

  1. a technician who produces sound effects.

  2. a technician responsible for the quality of sound that is broadcast or recorded.

  3. Theater. a technician responsible for the proper placement of microphones, achieving the desired volume and balance of sound from various sources, and eliminating any distortion caused by amplification.


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.

See Examples For:

“Nothing happened with the first one. With the second, it struck under the bridge of the second enemy ship, but instead of an explosion the sound man picked up only a dull thud—another dud.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

“When I was smashing my guitars, we liked to pretend that everything was catching fire, so Bob Pridden, our road manager and sound man, would set off smoke bombs,” Townshend says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025

Most of their hostages were Iranians but also included BBC sound man Sim Harris, BBC News organiser Chris Cramer and tourists who had stopped by to collect visas.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2025

“He comes over here with a really good sound man, and people like Bobby Weir, Peter Rowan and all these other musicians he’s known drop in.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022

Disconcertingly, people were seated all around me, and some of the questions came from behind; a television sound man waded carefully among those on the floor.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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