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• stereo
  stereo

  noun

  stereoscopic photography.
• stereo-
  stereo-

  a combining form borrowed from Greek, where it meant “solid”, used with reference to hardness, solidity, three-dimensionality in the formation of compound words.
• stereo.
  stereo.

  abbreviation

  stereotype.

stereo

¹ American  

[ster-ee-oh, steer-] / ˈstɛr iˌoʊ, ˈstɪər- /

noun

stereos plural

1. stereoscopic photography.

2. a stereoscopic photograph.

3. stereophonic sound reproduction.

4. a system or the equipment for reproducing stereophonic sound.

5. Printing. stereotype.

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adjective

1. pertaining to stereophonic sound, stereoscopic photography, etc.

verb (used with object)

1. Printing. stereotype.

stereo- ² American  

especially before a vowel, stere-.

1. a combining form borrowed from Greek, where it meant “solid”, used with reference to hardness, solidity, three-dimensionality in the formation of compound words.

   stereochemistry; stereogram; stereoscope.

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stereo. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. stereotype.

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stereo ¹ British  

/ ˈstɪər-, ˈstɛrɪəʊ /

adjective

1. short for stereophonic stereoscopic

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noun

1. stereophonic sound

   to broadcast in stereo

2. a stereophonic record player, tape recorder, etc

3. photog

   1. stereoscopic photography

   2. a stereoscopic photograph

4. printing short for stereotype

stereo- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating three-dimensional quality or solidity

   stereoscope

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stereos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stereo¹

First recorded in 1815–25; by shortening

Origin of stereo-²

From the Greek word stereós

Explanation

A sound system with speakers that makes music seem to come from several directions at once—almost like it's all around you—is called a stereo. Your older brother should have set aside some money for food and rent instead of blowing his whole paycheck on a new stereo system. The kind of sound that's layered and three-dimensional is stereo sound, and the machine you use to play this type of recording is also called a stereo. The word is shorthand for stereophonic, which describes something recorded using two or more channels so that the sound seems to surround the listener and come from more than one source. You can also break this word into its Greek roots, stereo, "solid or three-dimensional," and phone, "voice."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stereo stereo- stereo. stereos

All this gave the mix, even when reduced to stereo, an unparalleled spatial complexity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

"We only had stereo speakers, but the house shook because our friends were dancing so hard," says Pierson.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026

Next, the team studied stereo images of about 300 of these dust devils to determine their movement and speed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2025

On “Sound Machine,” a track from the new album “Aloud” from poet Raymond Antrobus and percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Antrobus recalls his fear as a child when he knocked over his dad’s stereo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025

Annabelle runs and runs down this awful Pennsylvania road, because now there is a car in a driveway, and its stereo is on, and music is pumping.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

His most telling message is that the nation cannot help the "children of crisis" unless it understands them, and it cannot understand without discarding stereo- types.

From Time Magazine Archive

“I’ve witnessed the move from mono to stereo. Then came 4-track tape, which was bulky,” he said in 1990.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2020

We can't improve on this recommendation on Twitter: "Sounds like the third world war breaking out just above your stereo." @robinturner Aidan Moffat provides vocals on this beautiful, subtly devastating tale of dying romance.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 13, 2013

But few top executives really expect wives to conform to any stereo. typed image.

From Time Magazine Archive

“This one is stereo. Heterodyne. I assembled it myself.”

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

When the group disbanded in the early 1980s, Johnson was forced to take jobs working construction and selling stereos, according to the documentary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Among the items he packed were two or three wireless phones, multiple car stereos, and a bunch of Craftsman tools.

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

They have been blasted from car stereos on the streets of New York City, played by DJs at nightclubs across the US, dubbed into Chinese on TikTok and inspired merengue songs among Spanish-speaking audiences.

From BBC ● May 11, 2024

In 1967, he sold 30 million car stereos and tapes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

In the past few years, stereos have begun disappearing from college dorms as students attach speakers to their computers and play their MP3s.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Related Words

• audio system
• radio
• sound system