How to use sonar in a sentence

14 example sentences · noun

Sonar means artificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same wave-analysis principles that radar uses. Example: “They were able to detect the sunken wreck using sonar.”

Examples of sonar by meaning

nounArtificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same...

They were able to detect the sunken wreck using sonar.

nounA device that provides such echolocation.

They finally bought a new sonar to replace the 40-year-old unit that sometimes didn't work right.

nounAny echolocation.

Submarines and bats both use sonar to navigate.

More sentences with sonar

Thanks to its sonar, the narwhal can remain active even at midnight, unhindered by the darkness.From the entry midnight
We couldn't take the boat into the shallows near the reef because our sonar pinger was broken.From the entry pinger
The detected submarine was tracked by sonar, it was easy once they knew where to look.From the entry detected
They consider that channel to be unsailable until a sounding with sonar has been performed.From the entry unsailable
Other support systems included active and passive sonar, altimeter, depthometer, and compass.2025 April 17, Wikipedia contributors, “CURV”, in English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. From the entry depthometer
"What if we emit an active sonar beam, one that's directionally very tight, at minimum power?2000, Joe Buff, Deep Sound Channel, Bantam Books, →ISBN, pages 311-312. From the entry megaplume
Figure 10.5 typifies this latter condition, in which the self-noise generated at the sonar dome of a warship is seen.2011, John Carlton, Marine Propellers and Propulsion, page 253. From the entry self-noise
Our Kingfisher sonars can detect mines. . . .2006, Jeff Edwards, Torpedo, →ISBN, page xiii. From the entry bring a knife to a gunfight
"Maybe they're asleep." The ensign switched on the locator sonar.1984, Tom Clancy, “The Thirteenth Day: Wednesday, 15 December”, in The Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press…. From the entry fit to wake the dead
Success for Operation Teardrop had come not from aircraft but from the tedious sonar and hydrophonic probing of the depths by surface ships.2013, Carl P. LaVO, Pushing the Limits: The Remarkable Life and Times of Vice Adm. Allan McCann, USN. From the entry hydrophonic
Underwater ship husbandry includes activities such as hull cleaning, fiberglass repair, welding, sonar dome repair, propulsor lay-up, non-destructive testing, masker belt repairs, and painting operations.1999 April, “Phase I Discharge Determinations”, in Technical Development Document for Phase I Uniform National Discharge Standards for…. From the entry husbandry

Meaning of sonar

noun Artificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same wave-analysis principles that radar uses.
noun A device that provides such echolocation.
noun Any echolocation.

Full definition of sonar

Questions about sonar in a sentence

How do you use sonar in a sentence?: Sonar is used as a noun. For example: “They were able to detect the sunken wreck using sonar.”
What is a short sentence with sonar?: “Submarines and bats both use sonar to navigate.”
What does sonar mean?: Sonar means artificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same wave-analysis principles that radar uses.

Adapted from Wiktionary: sonar (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use sonar in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sonar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.