microphone

«microphone» in Mova's school dictionary: A device that picks up sound and turns it into an… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a microphone, microphones); informal: mic, mike

meaning for a pupil

A device that picks up sound and turns it into an electrical signal so it can be made louder, recorded or sent. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons a microphone changes sound energy into electrical energy (a speaker does the opposite). In everyday life singers, teachers in big halls and phones use microphones. Phrases: speak into the microphone, the mic is on, open mic.

examples

• Please speak into the microphone so everyone can hear. tree →
• The singer held the microphone close. tree →
• My laptop has a tiny built-in microphone. tree →
• The microphone squealed when it was too close to the speaker. tree →
• Is the mic on? tree →
• The head teacher tested the microphone before assembly. tree →

note

Short forms: mic (most common now) or mike. Microphone ≠ speaker/loudspeaker. From micro- (small) + phone (sound).

In the corpora

• Apps may ask for more permissions, like microphone and location, than they need; a grown-up can help say no.
• Pointing the microphone away from the speakers or turning it down stops feedback.
• A microphone left on can let everyone in the game hear what is happening in your home.
• Most consoles and games let you mute your microphone and let parents limit voice chat to friends.
• People disagree whether moderators should cut microphones when time is up, check facts live, or let the back and forth run.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «microphone» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.