white noise

American  

[wahyt noiz, hwahyt] / ˈwaɪt ˈnɔɪz, ˈʰwaɪt /

noun

1. Also called broadband noise.  Physics. a noise signal with a uniform frequency spectrum over a wide range of frequencies.

2. Also called white sound.  Informal. any steady, unobtrusive sound or pattern of sounds recorded from nature or produced electronically and used to mask unwanted noise or fill a discomforting silence.

   You can program the machine to play ocean waves, a rainforest, a thunderstorm, or whatever white noise helps you to relax.

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white noise British  

noun

1. 1. sound or electrical noise that has a relatively wide continuous range of frequencies of uniform intensity

   2. noise containing all frequencies rising in level by six decibels every octave

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Etymology

Origin of white noise

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

While our perception of salt, sweet and sour is reduced in the presence of white noise, umami is not, and tomatoes, and tomato juice is rich in umami.

From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026

"At some point, it becomes a bit of a white noise," he said.

From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026

So there is a little bit, like, foreground, background, as far as what’s white noise and what comes up to the front.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

The rest, like me, completed their tasks - presumably feeling varying degrees of humiliation - and were rewarded with another calming session of white noise through headphones at the end.

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025

It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon