I. noise 1 S2 W2 /nɔɪz/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: adverb : ↑ noisily , ↑ noiselessly ; adjective : ↑ noisy , ↑ noiseless ; noun : ↑ noise ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: 'quarreling, noise' , from Latin nausea ; ⇨ ↑ nausea ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a sound, especially one that is loud, unpleasant, or frightening SYN sound :
What’s that noise?
noise of
the noise of the traffic
Try not to make a noise when you go upstairs.
gurgling/banging/crackling etc noise
There was a strange whistling noise in his ears.
There was a lot of noise outside.
Noise levels have been reduced by 20%.
traffic/engine/background etc noise
the problem of aircraft noise near airports
2 . (make) encouraging/optimistic etc noises (about something) British English to say things which suggest what your opinion or attitude is, without saying it directly:
Both sides were making hopeful noises about the hostages.
3 . make (all) the right noises (about something) to say the things that other people want or expect to hear:
The health minister seems to be making all the right noises.
4 . make noises about doing something to say that you are considering doing something:
He is now making noises about starting his own business.
5 . make a (lot of) noise about something British English to talk about something a lot, so that people will notice it – used in order to show disapproval:
modern men who make a noise about the fact that they know how to look good
6 . [uncountable] technical unwanted signals produced by an electrical ↑ circuit
7 . [uncountable] technical pieces of unwanted information that can prevent a computer from working effectively
8 . noises off the sounds, voices etc that come from actors who are not on the stage at the time
⇨ ↑ big noise
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make a noise
The car engine was making a funny noise.
▪ hear a noise
She heard a strange noise.
▪ a noise comes from something
The noise seemed to be coming from the kitchen.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + noise
▪ a loud noise
The rain made a loud noise against the window.
▪ a strange/funny noise
What’s that funny noise?
▪ a gurgling/whistling/cracking etc noise (=a noise with a particular kind of sound)
The water moved through the pipes with a loud gurgling noise.
▪ constant noise (=noise that does not stop)
She was fed up with the constant noise of traffic.
▪ background noise (=noise of things that are happening around you)
The background noise made it hard to hear what he was saying.
▪ traffic/aircraft/engine etc noise
It was peaceful there, with no traffic noise at all.
■ noise + NOUN
▪ noise levels
The hospital is trying to reduce noise levels to help patients sleep.
▪ noise pollution (=noise from cars, planes etc which has a bad effect on people’s lives)
The new airport will increase noise pollution in the surrounding area.
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THESAURUS
▪ noise a loud sound, especially an unpleasant one:
Traffic noise is a problem in inner-city areas.
|
Why is the washing machine making so much noise?
▪ racket/din a loud unpleasant noise, especially one that annoys you. Racket is more informal than din :
I wish those kids would stop making such a racket.
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I shouted to make myself heard above the din of the crowd.
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the din of battle
▪ row British English a very loud unpleasant noise, especially one that continues for a long time:
the deafening row of the loudspeakers
▪ roar a loud noise that continues for a long time – used about the noise from an engine, the traffic, a crowd, the sea, or the wind:
She heard the roar of a motorbike behind her.
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the roar of the waves breaking on the beach
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the roar of the crowd at the Blue Jays baseball game
▪ hubbub especially written the unclear sound of a lot of people talking and moving around in a place:
It’s a wonderful place to escape from the hubbub of London’s busy streets.
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His voice rose above the hubbub.
▪ commotion especially written a noise made by people arguing or fighting:
There was a big commotion going on outside the building.
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He went downstairs to find out what was causing the commotion.
▪ clamour British English , clamor American English literary a loud noise made by a group of people or things all making a noise at the same time:
They heard the clamour of angry voices.
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the clamor of the rain on the roof
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the clamour of typewriters
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the clamour of the birds
II. noise 2 BrE AmE verb
be noised abroad/about/around old-fashioned especially British English if news or information is noised abroad, people are talking about it:
Rumours of an election are being noised abroad.