-ād.ə(r), -ātə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: resonate + -or
1. : something that resounds or resonates: as
a. : a hollow acoustic vessel with two openings one of which is to be held to the ear and the other directed toward a source of sound which may be intensified in certain frequencies by the resonance of the enclosed air
b. : an electric circuit in which are incorporated inductance and capacitance so connected that a periodic electromotive force of suitable frequency causes the circuit to resonate with electric oscillations of maximum amplitude
c. : cavity resonator
d. : a device (as the piano soundboard, the body of a stringed instrument) for increasing the power or beauty of tone of a musical instrument by sympathetic vibration
e. : any of the pharynx, mouth, or nose cavities that serve to reinforce tones in the formation of speech sounds
f. : an open box for containing a telegraph sounder and designed to concentrate and amplify the sound
2. : a small auxiliary muffler behind the regular muffler in the exhaust system of an automobile