audible
B1Neutral. Used in formal, informal, and technical (American football) contexts.
Definition
Meaning
able to be heard; loud enough to be heard.
In American football: a play called at the line of scrimmage by the quarterback, changing the originally planned play. By extension, any last-minute change to a plan announced verbally.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily an adjective. Its meaning is sensory and relates directly to the faculty of hearing. The verbal usage is a denominal verb from the American football sense and is largely confined to that sport's context and its metaphorical extensions.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The noun and verb senses related to American football are far more common and understood in American English. The adjective is identical in both varieties.
Connotations
In the US, 'audible' can immediately evoke sports strategy and adaptability. In the UK, it is a purely descriptive term for sound.
Frequency
The adjective is common in both. The American football senses are rare in British English outside of sports reporting.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
be audible to someonebe audible from [a place]call an audible [at the line]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “call an audible (to make a spontaneous change of plan)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
"The customer's frustration was audible in her tone of voice."
Academic
"The signal must be rendered audible for the subsequent analysis."
Everyday
"Can you speak up? You're barely audible over the rain."
Technical
"The quarterback audibled to a screen pass after reading the blitz."
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The captain had to audible when he saw the defence's unexpected formation.
American English
- Seeing the stacked box, Rodgers audibled to a deep pass play.
adverb
British English
- This form is rarely used. 'Audibly' is the standard adverb, as in 'She sighed audibly.'
American English
- This form is rarely used. 'Audibly' is the standard adverb, as in 'He audibly groaned at the bad news.'
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The music from the party was audible from my house.
- Please speak louder; you are not audible.
- His voice was barely audible over the sound of the engine.
- The alarm must be clearly audible in all rooms.
- An audible gasp went through the audience at the plot twist.
- The manager decided to call an audible and postpone the product launch.
- The recording contained an audible frequency beyond the range of human hearing.
- Faced with new market data, the CEO audibled, shifting the company's entire investment strategy.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of AUDIO + BLE. Something with AUDIO (sound) that is ABLE to be heard is AUDIBLE.
Conceptual Metaphor
HEARING IS PERCEIVING (e.g., 'an audible sigh of relief' makes an internal feeling externally perceivable).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'audio' (аудио), which is an adjective/noun for equipment or signals. 'Audible' is about the *capability* of being heard.
- Do not directly translate as 'слуховой', which relates more to the hearing organ. The correct conceptual equivalent is 'слышимый'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'audible' to describe a person's ability to hear well (that is 'auditory' or 'having good hearing').
- Pronouncing it as /aʊˈdɪbəl/ (like 'out-ible') instead of /ˈɔːdəbəl/.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the word 'audible' used as a verb?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The direct opposite is 'inaudible', meaning unable to be heard.
Not directly. It describes sounds, voices, or signals. You would say 'Her voice was audible' not 'She was audible.'
Yes, they share the Latin root 'audire' meaning 'to hear'. An audience is a group of listeners, and something audible is capable of being heard by them.
It is a metaphorical extension meaning to improvise or make a sudden change to a plan based on new circumstances, often announced verbally at the last moment.