echolocation

IPA/ˌekəʊləʊˈkeɪʃn/
KK[ˌɛkolokˈeʃən]IPA/ˌekəʊləʊˈkeɪʃn/

echolocation — noun

1. a biological ability that some animals have to sense their surroundings by sendi

1.nounC1
Definition

a biological ability that some animals have to sense their surroundings by sending out high-pitched sounds and listening to the echoes that bounce back from objects or creatures around them

Example

Bats rely on echolocation to hunt for insects in the dark.

Aoi's biology project showed how dolphins use echolocation to track fish in cloudy water.

possession: Aoi's + noun; use echolocation to + verb

Common collocations
  • use echolocation
  • rely on echolocation
  • depend on echolocation
  • echolocation system
  • echolocation calls
  • echolocation ability
  • echolocation research
Synonyms
  • biosonar

    the technical scientific term for the same ability, formed from bio- (life) + sonar; less common in everyday English but frequent in research papers

  • sonar

    a human-made technology that works on the same principle; not used to describe animals, only machines (submarines, boats, fish finders)

Grammar Patterns

echolocation + noun (as modifier — e.g. echolocation system)

use echolocation

rely on echolocation

Usage Note

Echolocation is an uncountable noun — do not use a or an before it. The verb form echolocate exists but is rare; most writing uses the noun with a verb such as use, rely on, or depend on.

Common Mistakes

Dogs use echolocation to find their toys.
Bats and dolphins use echolocation, but dogs do not
they rely on their sense of smell and hearing.' — Echolocation is a specialised ability found only in certain animals such as bats, dolphins, whales, and some cave-dwelling birds.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Echolocation, sonar, and biosonar all describe the use of sound waves to locate objects, but they are used in different contexts. Echolocation is the standard biological term for the natural ability of bats, dolphins, and some birds to sense their surroundings through reflected sound. Sonar (an acronym for Sound Navigation And Ranging) is the human-made technology that works on the same principle — sending out sound pulses and measuring how long they take to return — and is used in submarines, fishing boats, and underwater mapping. Biosonar is a hybrid term (bio- + sonar) used mainly in academic writing to refer to the biological version of sonar; it means the same thing as echolocation but is much less common. For example: 'A submarine uses sonar to detect other vessels underwater,' while 'a bat uses echolocation to catch flying insects in total darkness.'

echolocation ↗sonar ↗biosonar

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • use echolocation
  • rely on echolocation
  • depend on echolocation
  • echolocation in action

Prepositions

  • through echolocation
  • by echolocation
  • using echolocation

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

Echolocation is a compound formed from echo (from Greek ēkhō, meaning 'repeated sound') and location (from Latin locare, 'to place'). The word was coined in English in the 1940s, when scientists studying bats first understood how the animals navigate in complete darkness using reflected sound waves.

First known use

1944

1944, in the meaning defined above