subsonic
subsonic Lexical Profile
subsonic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, moving at, or capable of achieving a speed less than that of sound in a given medium (less than Mach 1).
"Most commercial passenger airliners are designed for efficient subsonic flight rather than breaking the sound barrier."
Having or relating to a frequency too low to be heard by the human ear (typically below 20 hertz).
"The sensitive seismograph detected subsonic vibrations deep within the earth long before the tremors were felt at the surface."
Word Nuance & Usage
In aerodynamics, 'subsonic' describes speeds slower than the speed of sound, whereas in acoustics, 'infrasonic' is preferred over 'subsonic' to describe sound frequencies below the threshold of human hearing.
• Rhymes for subsonic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 20th century from the Latin prefix 'sub-' (meaning 'under' or 'below') and 'sonic' (from Latin 'sonus', meaning 'sound').