sonic
part of speech
adjective (sonic)
meaning for a pupil
1) Sonic means to do with sound or sound waves, as in «a sonic boom». tree →
2) (science) Sonic speed is the speed of sound; «supersonic» means faster than sound and «subsonic» slower. tree →
3) Sonic the Hedgehog is a famous fast blue character in video games. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons, a «sonic boom» is the loud bang made when a plane flies faster than sound; sound travels at about 340 metres per second in air. In everyday life, sonic toothbrushes vibrate very fast. In games, Sonic is known for speed. Phrases: «sonic boom», «sonic toothbrush», «supersonic».
examples
- The jet broke the sound barrier with a loud sonic boom. tree →
- Bats use sonic signals to find their way. tree →
- My sonic toothbrush buzzes very fast. tree →
- Concorde was a supersonic passenger plane. tree →
- Sonic the Hedgehog collects gold rings. tree →
- Sound in air goes about 340 metres every second. tree →
note
Adjective. Related: supersonic, ultrasonic, subsonic. In maths problems about sound, distance = speed × time; at about 340 m/s, thunder heard 3 seconds after lightning is about 1 kilometre away.
In the corpora
- Real hedgehogs walk slowly and can trot, but cannot race; Sonic was named for speed, not for biology.
- Scooby-Doo shakes with fear, Garfield wolfs a tray of lasagne, Sonic zooms round loops faster than sound.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sonic» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.