/ laʊd; NAmE / adjective , adverb
■ adjective ( loud·er , loud·est )
1.
making a lot of noise :
loud laughter
a deafeningly loud bang
She spoke in a very loud voice.
That music's too loud—please turn it down.
2.
( of a person or their behaviour ) talking very loudly, too much and in a way that is annoying
3.
( of colours, patterns, etc. ) too bright and lacking good taste
SYN gaudy , garish
► loud·ly adverb :
She screamed as loudly as she could.
► loud·ness noun [ U ]
■ adverb
( loud·er , loud·est ) ( informal ) in a way that makes a lot of noise or can be easily heard
SYN loudly :
Do you have to play that music so loud?
You'll have to speak louder—I can't hear you.
•
IDIOMS
- loud and clear
- out loud
—more at action , cry verb , think verb
••
WHICH WORD
loud / loudly / aloud
Loudly is the usual adverb from the adjective loud :
The audience laughed loudly at the joke.
Loud is very common as an adverb in informal language. It is nearly always used in phrases such as loud enough , as loud as or with too , very , so , etc.:
Don't play your music too loud.
•
I shouted as loud as I could.
Louder is also used in informal styles to mean 'more loudly':
Can you speak louder?
Out loud is a common adverb meaning 'so that people can hear':
Can you read the letter out loud?
•
He laughed out loud at his own joke.
Aloud has the same meaning but is fairly formal. It can also mean 'in a loud voice'.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hlūd , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch luid , German laut , from an Indo-European root meaning hear, shared by Greek kluein hear, klutos famous and Latin cluere be famous.