acoustic

UK/əˈkuː.stɪk//əˈku.stɪk/

acoustic adjective: used for soundproofing or modifying sound. Also the clipping of acoustic guitar.

Adjective

acoustic (not comparable)

Used for soundproofing or modifying sound.

Synonyms:

auditory
Of a device or system, using sound energy in its operation.

Synonyms:

auditory
Of an explosive mine or other weapon, able to be set off by sound waves.

Synonyms:

auditory
Naturally producing or produced by an instrument without electrical amplification or the need thereof.
- acoustic guitar, acoustic piano
- Coordinate term: unplugged
(humorous, proscribed, transferred sense) Nonelectric; mechanical or otherwise basic.
- acoustic bike
- KEY: I've had a banana in banana cake.
  WATSON: But you haven't had a sort of acoustic banana?2020 June 4, 14:45 from the start, in No More Jockeys, season 1, episode 7, spoken by Tim Key and Mark Watson
Synonyms:

analog

Noun

acoustic (plural acoustics)

(plural-normally) The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.
A medicine or other agent to assist hearing.

Also used as

acoustic is also the clipping of acoustic guitar.

acoustic is also the euphemistic form of autistic.

acoustic meaning in Arabic and Malay

acoustic in Arabic

pertaining to hearing or the science of sounds: صَوْتِيّ ṣawtiyy

acoustic in Malay

pertaining to hearing or the science of sounds: akustik

Examples of acoustic in a sentence

Should you get an electric or acoustic bicycle?2022 May 19, “How to Get Started Biking”, in Wired:
E-bikes have now become so popular that old-fashioned, human-powered ones are tagged as “analog” or “acoustic” bikes.2025 November 30, David Darlington, “The Shocking Crash That Led Marin County to Reckon With the Dangers of E-Bikes”, in The New York Times...

All 40 example sentences with acoustic

Synonyms of acoustic

Forms of acoustic

Adjective
alternative form	acoustical
alternative form	acoustick
comparative	more acoustic
superlative	most acoustic
Noun
plural	acoustics

Plural of acoustic: acoustics

Origin of acoustic

Borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, acūsticus, from Ancient Greek ἀκουστῐκός (akoustĭkós, “of or for hearing”), from ἀκούω (akoúō, “to hear”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, adjectival suffix).

Due to the shared metrical structure of autistic and acoustic. Popularized on TikTok in late October 2023.

Words formed from acoustic

Questions about acoustic

What does acoustic mean?: Acoustic means used for soundproofing or modifying sound.
What is acoustic in Arabic?: Acoustic in Arabic is صَوْتِيّ (ṣawtiyy). See Acoustic meaning in Arabic.
How do you use acoustic in a sentence?: Should you get an electric or acoustic bicycle?
What part of speech is acoustic?: Acoustic can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce acoustic?: Acoustic is pronounced /əˈkuː.stɪk/ (UK).

Words near acoustic in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: acoustic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-acoustic.ogg.

Cite this entry: “acoustic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/acoustic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.