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radio

noun

Simple meaning

A device that can capture the signal sent over radio waves and render the modulated signal as sound.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

raydeeoh

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹeɪdioʊ

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. countable

    A device that can capture (receive) the signal sent over radio waves and render the modulated signal as sound.

  2. countable

    Any audio playing device, such as the on-board entertainment system in a car, usually including a radio receiver as well as the capability to play audio from recorded media; see also car radio.

  3. countable

    A device that can transmit radio signals.

  4. uncountable

    The technology that allows for the transmission of sound or other signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A device that can capture (receive) the signal sent over radio waves and render the modulated signal as sound.

Used this way, radio is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.

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

Where it naturally appears

  • Technical/specialist writing

Nearby words

  • radiocommunication , rarer, so it draws attention

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

More ways to use radio

  • “I like to listen to the radio during my morning commute.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

radio stationradio frequencyradio buttonradio operatorpublic radioradio programlocal radioradio broadcasting

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • radio signalnounCompound term

    A radio wave used to transmit and receive messages.

  • radio sourcenounCompound term

    An object that radiates radio waves.

  • radio spectrumnounCompound term

    The entire spectrum of electromagnetic frequencies used for communications.

  • radio stationnounCompound term

    Station for the production and transmission of AM or FM radio broadcasts.

  • radio telescopenounCompound term

    Astronomical telescope that picks up electromagnetic radiations in the radio-frequency range from extraterrestrial sources.

  • radio transmitternounCompound term

    Transmitter that is the part of a radio system that transmits signals.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: device that can capture (receive) the signal sent over radio waves and render the modulated signal as sound

radiocommunicationRareradio receiver

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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.