microphone

See also: microphône

English

Etymology

From micro- + -phone.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/
  • (file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfoʊn/
  • (file)

Noun

microphone (plural microphones)

A microphone.
  1. A device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted over radio.
    • 1965, Charles McDowell, Campaign Fever: The National Folk Festival, from New Hampshire to November, 1964, Morrow, page 11:
      Behind the tangled garden of microphones that had sprouted on the lectern, Goldwater spoke softly and casually about his family.
    • 1994, High Definition Television: An Annotated Multidisciplinary Bibliography, 1981-1992, page 112:
      It rained hard through most of Roosevelt's Second Inaugural. Audio tape recordings of the speech feature the tattoo of the rain on Roosevelt's microphone []
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:microphone.

Usage notes

  • Metaphors for many microphones (such as can be observed at a press conference) include garden of microphones and sea of microphones. Wall of microphones is used both figuratively (of a group of reporters) and literally (a wall covered with microphones).

Synonyms

  • (transducer of sound waves to electricity): mic, mike

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Cantonese: 咪高峰 (mai1 gou1 fung1)
  • Chichewa: maikolofoni
  • Fijian: maikorofoni
  • Hausa: makirufo
  • Korean: 마이크로폰 (maikeuropon)
  • Lao: ໄມໂຄຣໂຟນ (mai khōn fōn)
  • Portuguese: microfone
  • Shona: maikorofoni
  • Thai: ไมโครโฟน (mai-kroo-foon)
  • Welsh: meicroffon

Translations

Verb

microphone (third-person singular simple present microphones, present participle microphoning, simple past and past participle microphoned)

  1. (transitive) To put one or more microphones on or in.

Synonyms

Translations

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From micro- + -phone.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mi.kʁɔ.fɔn/
  • (file)

Noun

microphone m (plural microphones)

  1. microphone
    Synonym: micro

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

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