signal-to-noise
noun
Simple meaning
The ratio of signal intensity to noise intensity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
signuhltoonoyzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɪɡnəltuˈnɔɪz
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The ratio of signal intensity to noise intensity
A figure of merit that compares the strength of a signal carrying information to the level of noise interfering with it.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: The ratio of signal intensity to noise intensity
Used this way, signal-to-noise is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
- 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
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.