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

Example Sentences

The continuous buying and selling of things is commerce, and commerce is, in “JR,” about the white noise of conversation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Restore 3 is a sleeper’s Swiss Army knife, with a variety of white noise and other ambient sounds, along with gentle lighting to ease you into—and out of—your bed.

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The bustle from the auditorium fades into white noise.

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From counting sheep to trying white noise or using weighted blankets, people have explored countless ways to improve their sleep.

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But standard white noise mostly drowns out how government policies and the overall economic system keep enriching the already rich at the expense of people with scant resources.

Read more on Salon