Meaning & use

decibel

noun·Academic

A unit used to measure the loudness or intensity of sound.

See it in a sentence

A normal conversation registers at about sixty decibels, while a rock concert can exceed 110.

The city passed a law limiting construction noise to a set number of decibels after 9 p.m.

A note on using this word

The decibel scale is logarithmic, so a small increase in decibels represents a much larger increase in actual sound intensity.

Words with a similar meaning

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