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Definition of sound verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sound

verb
 
 
/saʊnd/
 
/saʊnd/
not usually used in the progressive tenses
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they sound
 
/saʊnd/
 
/saʊnd/
he / she / it sounds
 
/saʊndz/
 
/saʊndz/
past simple sounded
 
/ˈsaʊndɪd/
 
/ˈsaʊndɪd/
past participle sounded
 
/ˈsaʊndɪd/
 
/ˈsaʊndɪd/
-ing form sounding
 
/ˈsaʊndɪŋ/
 
/ˈsaʊndɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    give impression

  1.  
     linking verb to give a particular impression when heard or read about
    • + adj. to sound good/great/right/interesting
    • His voice sounded strange on the phone.
    • The economy went into recession and taxpayers ended up footing the bill. Sound familiar (= does that sound familiar)?
    • I'm about to say something which sounds a bit strange.
    • Leo made it sound so easy. But it wasn't.
    • She didn't sound surprised when I told her the news.
    • All of this sounds a lot worse than it actually is.
    • His explanation sounds reasonable to me.
    • He doesn’t sound French—and he doesn’t look it.
    • + noun She sounds just the person we need for the job.
    • sound like somebody/something The pioneering technique sounds like something out of a science fiction film.
    • You sounded just like your father when you said that.
    • sound as if/as though… I hope I don’t sound as if/as though I’m criticizing you.
    In spoken English people often use like instead of as if or as though, especially in North American English, but this is not considered correct in written British English.

    2. -sounding

  2. (in adjectives) giving the impression of having a particular sound
    • an Italian-sounding name
    • fine-sounding words
    3.

    produce sound

  3. [intransitive, transitive] to produce a sound; to make something such as a musical instrument produce a sound
    • The bell sounded for the end of the class.
    • (British English) sound something Passing motorists sounded their horns in support.
    Extra Examples
    • At that moment the dinner gong sounded.
    • An alarm sounded two minutes after midnight.
    4.

    give warning/signal

  4.  
     [transitive] sound something to give a signal such as a warning by making a sound
    • When I saw the smoke, I tried to sound the alarm.
    • (figurative) Scientists have sounded a note of caution on the technique.
    • Leaving him out of the team may sound the death knell for our chances of winning (= signal the end of our chances).
    • Wall Street has sounded repeated warnings about rising inflation.
    5.

    pronounce

  5. [transitive] sound something (specialist) to pronounce something
    • You don't sound the ‘b’ in the word ‘comb’.
    6.

    measure depth

  6. [transitive, intransitive] sound (something) (specialist) to measure the depth of the sea or a lake by using a line with a weight attached, or an electronic instrument
    7. Word Originverb senses 1 to 5 and sound off. Middle English soun, from Anglo-Norman French soun (noun), suner (verb), from Latin sonus. The form with -d was established in the 16th cent. sound somebody out/​sound something out. Middle English: from Old English gesund, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch gezond and German gesund. verb sense 6 late Middle English: from Old French sonder, based on Latin sub- ‘below’ + unda ‘wave’.
Idioms
look/sound suspiciously like something
  1. (often humorous) to be very similar to something
    • Their latest single sounds suspiciously like the last one.
sound/strike a note (of something)
  1. to express feelings or opinions of a particular kind
    • She sounded a note of warning in her speech.
    • The touch of cynicism struck a slightly sour note.
    Extra Examples
    • He sounded a cautionary note.
    • His opening remarks struck the right note.
    Topics Opinion and argumentc2
(it) sounds like a plan (to me)
  1. used to agree to a suggestion that you think is goodTopics Opinion and argumentc2
See sound in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee sound in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: sound

Nearby words

halfway
adverb
 
 
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