stereophonic

American  

[ster-ee-uh-fon-ik, steer-] / ˌstɛr i əˈfɒn ɪk, ˌstɪər- /

adjective

1. pertaining to a system of sound recording or reproduction using two or more separate channels to produce a more realistic effect by capturing the spatial dimensions of a performance (the location of performers as well as their acoustic surroundings), used especially with high-fidelity recordings and reproduction systems (opposed to monophonic).

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stereophonic British  

/ ˌstɛrɪəˈfɒnɪk, ˌstɪər-, ˌstɪər-, ˌstɛrɪˈɒfənɪ /

adjective

1. Often shortened to: stereo.  (of a system for recording, reproducing, or broadcasting sound) using two or more separate microphones to feed two or more loudspeakers through separate channels in order to give a spatial effect to the sound Compare monophonic quadraphonics

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Other Word Forms

• stereophonically adverb
• stereophony noun

Etymology

Origin of stereophonic

First recorded in 1935–40; stereo- + phon(o)- + -ic

Example Sentences

As Cole Porter wrote in 1955, “If you want to get the crowds to come around / You gotta have glorious Technicolor, breathtaking Cinemascope / And stereophonic sound.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023

His father was an inventor who made major advances in television and stereophonic sound.

From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2022

Created by industrial designer Arnold Wolf and stereophonic audio pioneer Richard Ranger, the Paragon offered audiophiles a horn-shaped stereo speaker system housed within a midcentury modern wood cabinet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2018

Her husband angrily sold stereophonic components for a living.

From The New Yorker • May 27, 2017

From the bowels of a huge stereophonic phonograph the voice of Judy Garland was fighting its way through the din.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole