Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sensory system in certain animals, such as bats and dolphins, in which usually high-pitched sounds are emitted and their echoes interpreted to determine the direction and distance of objects.
  • noun Electronics A process for determining the location of objects by emitting sound waves and analyzing the waves reflected back to the sender by the object.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The use of echoes to detect objects as observed in bats and other natural creatures. Also known as biosonar.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun determining the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it

Etymologies

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Examples

Comments

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  • Thanks, palooka, this is a word well worth pilfering.

    Now, I wonder what word this could spawn to describe the process of looking for a cell phone by dialing its number.

    July 26, 2007

  • I have decided maybe I like tonocation; now what is the liguistics term for dropping a middle syllable, in this case lo?

    July 26, 2007

  • Hello.

    February 6, 2009

  • -ello, -llo, -lo, -o... you are somewhere in Australia.

    February 6, 2009

  • Hey, this shit works.

    February 6, 2009

  • And here I thought Wordie was soundproof.

    February 6, 2009