sounding

¹ American  

[saun-ding] / ˈsaʊn dɪŋ /

adjective

Archaic.

1. emitting or producing a sound or sounds.

2. resounding or sonorous.

3. having an imposing sound; high-sounding; pompous.

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noun

1. a verbal contest or confrontation, as among teenage boys or street-gang members, in which the trading of often elaborate insults and invective takes the place of physical violence.

sounding ² American  

[saun-ding] / ˈsaʊn dɪŋ /

noun

1. Often soundings. the act of measuring the depth of an area of water with or as if with a lead and line.

2. soundings,

   1. an area of water that can be sounded with an ordinary lead and line, the depth being 100 fathoms (180 meters) or less.

   2. the results or measurement obtained by sounding with a lead and line.

3. Meteorology. any vertical penetration of the atmosphere for scientific measurement, especially a radiosonde observation.

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idioms

1. off soundings, in waters beyond the 100-fathom (180-meter) depth.

2. on soundings, in waters less than 100 fathoms (180 meters) deep, so that the lead can be used.

sounding ¹ British  

/ ˈsaʊndɪŋ /

noun

1. (sometimes plural) the act or process of measuring depth of water or examining the bottom of a river, lake, etc, as with a sounding line

2. an observation or measurement of atmospheric conditions, as made using a radiosonde or rocketsonde

3. (often plural) measurements taken by sounding

4. (plural) a place where a sounding line will reach the bottom, esp less than 100 fathoms in depth

5. in waters less than 100 fathoms in depth

6. in waters more than 100 fathoms in depth

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sounding ² British  

/ ˈsaʊndɪŋ /

adjective

1. resounding; resonant

2. having an imposing sound and little content; pompous

   sounding phrases

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Other Word Forms

• soundingness
  noun
• soundingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of sounding¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English; sound ¹ + -ing ²

Origin of sounding²

First recorded 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at sound ³, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sounding

Well, Iowa and Kansas have a bunch of races this year, and the candidates are abruptly sounding different.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026

Without sounding callous, my thought is that, given her prognosis, she may be better off not selling the condo and incurring the capital-gains tax.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Text generation has also improved and can create plausible, authoritative and coherent sounding fake news reports.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

“In addition to it sounding exquisite, I’m not gonna lie, it also tore visually and symbolically.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

“I present to you bullet point number six,” she said, sounding more than a little smug.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• analysis
• case
• examination
• hearing
• inquiry
• inspection
• probe
• research
• review
• scrutiny
• search
• study
• survey