echolocation — The process by which animals such as bats and dolphins locate objects by emitting sounds and interpreting the echoes that bounce back
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: The process by which animals such as bats and dolphins locate objects by emitting sounds and interpreting the echoes that bounce back
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˌekoʊloʊˈkeɪʃən/
Example Sentences
- My grandma said she has echolocation too—she can find the TV remote in a pitch-dark room just by yelling at my grandpa.
- Scientists discovered that some blind humans can develop a form of echolocation by clicking their tongues.
- Dolphins' echolocation is so precise they can detect a fish hiding in the sand from meters away.
echolocation
NOUN[/ˌekoʊloʊˈkeɪʃən/]
The process by which animals such as bats and dolphins locate objects by emitting sounds and interpreting the echoes that bounce back
A bat uses echolocation to find moths in the pitch-dark cave.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
This 20th-century scientific term combines Greek 'echo' (reverberation, sound reflection) and Latin 'location' (position, place). It was coined in 1944 by American zoologist Donald Griffin to describe the echolocation ability of bats, literally meaning 'locating by sound echoes'.
Breakdown
echo- (Greek ēkhō, reverberation or reflected sound) + -location (Latin locatio, from locus meaning place or position). The compound describes the biological process of determining spatial position through reflected sound waves.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My grandma said she has echolocation too—she can find the TV remote in a pitch-dark room just by yelling at my grandpa.”
“Scientists discovered that some blind humans can develop a form of echolocation by clicking their tongues.”
“Dolphins' echolocation is so precise they can detect a fish hiding in the sand from meters away.”
“If humans had echolocation, we'd never lose our phones—just scream and listen for the echo!”
📚Related Words
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