I. ˈnȯiz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, noise, noisy strife, quarrel, from Latin nausea seasickness, nausea — more at nausea
1. : loud, confused, or senseless shouting or outcry : din or uproar of persons
2.
a.
(1) : sound or a sound that lacks agreeable musical quality or is noticeably loud, harsh, or discordant
noise results from irregular vibrations and produces an unpleasant sound — Henry Melnik
noise represents sounds in which the energy is more or less uniformly distributed over a considerable frequency range without a definite pitch being present — F.E.Terman
(2) : the din or loud persistent incoherent sound that is a feature of most communities or activities
the noise of a rookery
far away from city noise and disorder
b. : any sound that is undesired or that interferes with something to which one is listening (as a hum or the scratching of a needle produced by a sound recording or reproducing system)
c. : an unwanted signal that enters an electronic communication system (as telephone, radio, television) or that is created in it and that tends to interfere with the desired signals
a hissing sound in a telephone receiver, static in a radio receiver, and snow in a television receiver are forms of noise
3. obsolete : general or common talk or discussion : rumor ; especially : evil or slanderous report
4.
a. : sound or a sound that is not regarded as unpleasing or that has a pleasing melodious quality
the tinkling noises of the brook
the noise of heavenly choirs
b. obsolete : a company of musicians
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English noisen, from noise, n.
transitive verb
: to spread by rumor or report — usually used with abroad or about
it was noised about that the troops were to be returned home
a rumor is being noised abroad
intransitive verb
1. : to talk much or loudly
2. : to make a noise or outcry
III. noun
1. : electromagnetic radiation (as light or radio waves) that is composed of several frequencies and that involves random changes in frequency or amplitude
2. : something that attracts attention
Utah makes big noise this year — Ski
the play … will make little noise in the world — Brendan Gill
3. : something spoken or uttered
when he responded, gave him supportive noises: “Outasight” — Judson Jerome
made some encouraging noises about Britain's good standing in Arab eyes — William Hardcastle
4. : irrelevant or meaningless output (as from a computer or instrument) occurring along with desired information
5. : a style of rock music that is loud, often discordant, and usually uses electronic noise (as feedback)
6. : random variation or interference inherent to a system
the seasonal signal … is more than ten times the noise … of interannual variability — S.H.Schneider