sound.
Healthy.
Meaning & usage
Healthy.
He was safe and sound.
In horse management a sound horse is one with no health problems that might affect its suitability for its intended work.
Complete, solid, or secure.
Fred assured me the floorboards were sound.
Having the property of soundness.
Good; acceptable; decent.
How are you? —I'm sound.
That's a sound track you're playing.
Quiet and deep.
Sound asleep means sleeping peacefully, and often deeply.
Her sleep was sound.
Heavy; laid on with force.
a sound beating
Founded in law; legal; valid; not defective.
a sound title to land
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *sundaz (“healthy”), merged with synonymous Old English ġesund, from Proto-West Germanic *gasund. Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Possibly related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.
Soundly.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *sundaz (“healthy”), merged with synonymous Old English ġesund, from Proto-West Germanic *gasund. Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Possibly related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.
Yes; used to show agreement or understanding.
I found my jacket. — Sound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sound, sund, isund, ȝesund, from Old English sund (“sound, safe, whole, uninjured, healthy, prosperous”), from Proto-West Germanic *sund, from Proto-Germanic *sundaz (“healthy”), merged with synonymous Old English ġesund, from Proto-West Germanic *gasund. Cognate with Scots sound, soun (“healthy, sound”), Saterland Frisian suund, gesuund (“healthy”), West Frisian sûn (“healthy”), Dutch gezond (“healthy, sound”), Low German sund, gesund (“healthy”), German gesund (“healthy, sound”), Danish sund (“healthy”), Swedish sund (“sound, healthy”). Possibly related also to Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick”), German geschwind (“fast, quick”), Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”). See swith.
A sensation perceived by the ear caused by the vibration of air or some other medium.
He turned when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Nobody made a sound.
A vibration capable of causing such sensations.
A distinctive style and sonority of a particular musician, orchestra etc.
Noise without meaning; empty noise.
Earshot, distance within which a certain noise may be heard.
Stay within the sound of my voice.
A segment as a part of spoken language, the smallest unit of spoken language, a speech sound.
Where this word comes from
* Noun: from Middle English sownde, alteration of soun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sun, soun, Old French son, from accusative of Latin sonus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”). * Verb: from Middle English sownden, sounen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suner, sounder, Old French soner (modern sonner), from Latin sonō. * The hypercorrect -d appears in the fifteenth century. (Compare dialectal drownd, gownd for the same development.) Displaced native Middle English swei, from Old English swēġ, from Proto-Germanic *swōgiz.
To produce a sound.
When the horn sounds, take cover.
To convey an impression by one's sound.
He sounded good when we last spoke.
That story sounds like a pack of lies!
To be conveyed in sound; to be spread or published; to convey intelligence by sound.
To resound.
To arise or to be recognizable as arising in or from a particular area of law, or as likely to result in a particular kind of legal remedy.
In my opinion this claim sounds in damages rather than in an injunction.
To cause to produce a sound.
Sound the alarm!
He sounds the instrument.
To pronounce.
The "e" in "house" isn't sounded.
Where this word comes from
* Noun: from Middle English sownde, alteration of soun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sun, soun, Old French son, from accusative of Latin sonus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”). * Verb: from Middle English sownden, sounen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suner, sounder, Old French soner (modern sonner), from Latin sonō. * The hypercorrect -d appears in the fifteenth century. (Compare dialectal drownd, gownd for the same development.) Displaced native Middle English swei, from Old English swēġ, from Proto-Germanic *swōgiz.
A long narrow inlet, or a strait between the mainland and an island; also, a strait connecting two seas, or connecting a sea or lake with the ocean.
Puget Sound; Owen Sound; Long Island Sound
The air bladder of a fish.
Cod sounds are an esteemed article of food.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sound, sund (“body of water; swimming; air bladder of a fish”), from Old English sund (“the power, capacity, or act of swimming; swimming; sea; ocean; water; sound; strait; channel”), Old Norse sund (“channel, inlet, strait”), from Proto-Germanic *sundą (“swimming; sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem- (“swimming; sea”). Cognate with Dutch zond (“sound; strait”), Danish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Swedish sund (“sound; strait; channel”), Icelandic sund (“sound; strait; channel”), German Sund. Related to swim.
Of a whale, to dive downwards.
The whale sounded and eight hundred feet of heavy line streaked out of the line tub before he ended his dive.
To ascertain, or to try to ascertain, the thoughts, motives, and purposes of (a person); to examine; to try; to test; to probe.
When I sounded him, he appeared to favor the proposed deal.
To fathom or test; to ascertain the depth of water with a sounding line or other device.
Mariners on sailing ships would sound the depth of the water with a weighted rope.
To examine with the instrument called a sound or sonde, or by auscultation or percussion.
to sound a patient, or the bladder or urethra
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde (“sounding line”) of Germanic origin, compare Old English sundgyrd (“a sounding rod”), sundline (“a sounding line”), Old English sund (“water, sea”). More at Etymology 3 above.
A long, thin probe for sounding or dilating body cavities or canals such as the urethra; a sonde.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sounden, from Old French sonder, from sonde (“sounding line”) of Germanic origin, compare Old English sundgyrd (“a sounding rod”), sundline (“a sounding line”), Old English sund (“water, sea”). More at Etymology 3 above.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.