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echo

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ehkoh

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɛkoʊ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer.

  2. A reply that repeats what has just been said

  3. figurative

    Something that reflects or hearkens back to an earlier thing.

  4. figurative

    An insignificant indirect result; a ripple.

  5. A number of places in the United States

  6. poetry

    A device in verse in which a line ends with a word which recalls the sound of the last word of the preceding line.

verb

  1. intransitive

    Of a sound or sound waves: to reflect off a surface and return; to reverberate or resound.

  2. transitive

    To reflect back (a sound).

  3. intransitivefiguratively

    Of a rumour, opinion, etc.: to spread or reverberate.

  4. transitivefiguratively

    To repeat (another's speech, opinion, etc.).

  5. Ring or echo with sound

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer.

Used this way, echo is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use echo

  • “She could hear echoes of her own footsteps.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

spin echogradient echoecho sounderfaint echoecho parkdistant echoecho library

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • echo soundingnounCompound term

    Determining the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it.

  • echo soundernounCompound term

    A measuring instrument that sends out an acoustic pulse in water and measures distances in terms of the time for the echo of the pulse to return.

  • echo chambernounCompound term

    An enclosed space for producing reverberation of a sound.

  • radar echonounCompound term

    An electronic signal that has been reflected back to the radar antenna.

  • re-echonounCompound term

    The echo of an echo.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: of a sound or sound waves

reverberateresound

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.