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sounding

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Any place or part of the ocean, or other water, where a sounding line will reach the bottom.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sownding

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsaʊndɪŋ

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. chiefly in the plural

    Any place or part of the ocean, or other water, where a sounding line will reach the bottom.

  2. The act of measuring depth of water (usually with a sounding line)

  3. A measure of the depth of water taken with a sounding line

  4. The action of the verb to sound.

  5. The sand, shells, etc. brought up by the sounding lead when it has touched bottom.

  6. A test made with a probe or sonde.

adjective

  1. Sonorous.

  2. Emitting a sound.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any place or part of the ocean, or other water, where a sounding line will reach the bottom.

Used this way, sounding 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 sounding

  • “The new car is sounding much better after the repairs.”

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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.