audible

1 of 3

adjective

au·​di·​ble ˈȯ-də-bəl 

: heard or capable of being heard

spoke in a barely audible voice

audibility

ˌȯ-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

audibly

ˈȯ-də-blē 

adverb

audible

2 of 3

noun

American football

: a substitute offensive or defensive play called at the line of scrimmage

audible

3 of 3

verb

audibled; audibling ˈȯ-də-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

American football

: to call an audible

Chicago quarterback Jim Harbaugh audibled to a pass play …

—Peter King

Examples of audible in a Sentence

Adjective

Her voice was barely audible over the noise.

He let out an audible sigh.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Its return to the launch pad is expected to result in audible sonic booms around the landing zone. —William Gavin, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2024

His words were unmistakably aimed at Puerto Ricans, and the audience's reaction was an audible gasp rather than laughter. —Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 31 Oct. 2024

Noun

Protest audible from courtroom The sounds of a sidewalk protest over the death of Neely were audible in the 13th-floor courtroom ahead of opening statements. —Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2024

But an injury to superstar point guard Steph Curry made Golden State call an audible. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2024

Verb

The moxie to audible — without permission — and deliver a pinpoint pass for a 42-yard gain is intoxicating. —Ben Standig, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024

The textures respected Mahler’s passion for transparency: the flute audible through the strings, the harps palpable amid the brasses. —Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 7 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Late Latin audībilis, from Latin audīre "to hear" + -bilis "subject to or capable of (the action of the verb)"; audīre perhaps going back to Indo-European *h₂eu̯is- "evident, manifest" (akin, with varying vowel placement and ablaut grades, to Greek aḯein "to perceive, hear," Sanskrit āvíṣ "evidently," Avestan auuiš, Old Church Slavic avě, javě "clearly, manifestly," Lithuanian ovyje "in reality," Hittite au-/u- "see, look") + *dheh₁- "put, place" — more at do entry 1, -able

Note: Though there is general agreement in the etymological literature on the identity of the first element of audiō, audīre, the second element is problematic. If audiō goes back to a pre-Latin *áwizdijō, the outcome of the cluster *-zdh- as -d- conflicts with its apparent outcome elsewhere as -st-, as in hasta "spear" (see yard entry 2) and perhaps in custōs "guardian" (see custody). (The cluster -zd- without an aspirate regularly yields loss of -z- with lengthening of the preceding vowel, as in nīdus "nest" from *nizdos—see nest entry 1.)

Noun

derivative of audible entry 1

Verb

derivative of audible entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1961, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1959, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing audible

• sub-audible

Kids Definition

audible

adjective

au·​di·​ble

ˈȯd-ə-bəl

: heard or capable of being heard

the sound was barely audible

audibility

ˌȯd-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē

noun

audibly

ˈȯd-ə-blē

adverb

Medical Definition

audible

adjective

au·​di·​ble ˈȯd-ə-bəl 

: heard or capable of being heard

audibility

ˌȯd-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

plural audibilities

audibly

ˈȯd-ə-blē 

adverb