geophone

noun

geo·​phone ˈjē-ə-ˌfōn How to pronounce geophone (audio)
: an instrument for detecting vibrations passing through rocks, soil, or ice

Examples of geophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Specifically, the team turned to seismic data from an array of four geophone instruments deployed on the moon during Apollo 17 as a part of NASA's Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment. Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023 Most geophones are designed for measuring frequencies above 10 Hz. IEEE Spectrum, 27 Sep. 2023 The team is closely watching data recorded by eight geophones—acoustic detectors that pick up seismic waves—hanging in nearby boreholes. Gregory Barber, WIRED, 19 July 2023 The percussion section has some odd additions, including a whip, gongs, crotales (small cymbals struck with a mallet), a wind machine and one instrument invented specifically for this work: A geophone, or sand machine, a flat drum filled with beads to imitate the sound of shifting sand. Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Dec. 2021 Every Raspberry Shake, including the most popular Raspberry Shake 1D, comes equipped with a geophone that measures the vertical component of seismic waves. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2020 Raspberry Shake solves this problem by combining a vertical-component geophone with accelerometers in the Raspberry Shake 4D. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2020 To conduct the study, the researchers planted devices known as geophones near wild elephants in Kenya. Douglas Quenqua, BostonGlobe.com, 8 May 2018 The idea is that Fluid can be used to quickly narrow down the location of any water losses, allowing operators using geophones to pinpoint the exact site. The Economist, 26 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of geophone was in 1919

Dictionary Entries Near geophone

Cite this Entry

“Geophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geophone. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on geophone

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!