white noise

[wahyt noiz, hwahyt]

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.

white noise

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of white noise¹

First recorded in 1965–70