acoustic meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

acoustic

adj

UK /əˈkuː.stɪk/ · CA, US /əˈku.stɪk/

Etymology Borrowed from Medieval Latin acousticus, acūsticus, from Ancient Greek ἀκουστῐκός (akoustĭkós, “of or for hearing”), from ἀκούω (akoúō, “to hear”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, adjectival suffix).

› Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the…

Architecture Of building materials Used for soundproofing or modifying sound.

Of a device or system, using sound energy in its operation.

Engineering, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry Of an explosive mine or other weapon, able to be set off by sound waves.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music Naturally producing or produced by an instrument without electrical amplification or the need thereof.

acoustic guitar, acoustic piano
Coordinate term: unplugged

Humorous, Proscribed Nonelectric; mechanical or otherwise basic.

Transferred sense

acoustic bike
KEY: I've had a banana in banana cake. WATSON: But you haven't had a sort of acoustic banana?2020 June 4, 14:45 from the start, in No More Jockeys, season 1, episode 7, spoken by Tim Key and Mark Watson:

2 more examples

For a lot of people, riding a bike through a crowded city—or even on suburban avenues—might feel daunting. Should you get an electric or acoustic bicycle?2022 May 19, “How to Get Started Biking”, in Wired:
E-bikes have now become so popular that old-fashioned, human-powered ones are tagged as “analog” or “acoustic” bikes.2025 November 30, David Darlington, “The Shocking Crash That Led Marin County to Reckon With the Dangers of E-Bikes”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2025:

Derived terms: 69 terms
acoustic admittance, acoustical, acoustically, acoustic barrier, acoustic bass, acoustic bass guitar, acoustic bassist, acoustic ceiling, acoustic coupler, acoustic-electric, acoustic emission, acoustic energy, acoustic guitar, acoustic guitarist, acoustician, acoustic impedance, acoustic interferometer, acoustic jamming, acousticky, acoustic meatus, acoustic mirror, acoustic model, acoustic nerve, acousticness, acoustic neuroma, acousticofacial, acousticopalpebral, acousticophobia, acoustic perfume, acoustic phonetics, acoustic rock, acoustics, acoustic shadow, acoustic shock, acoustic traveltime, acousto-, aeroacoustic, anacoustic, archaeoacoustic, baryon acoustic oscillation, bioacoustic, catacoustic, diacoustic, diplacusis, echoacoustic, ecoacoustic, electroacoustic, geoacoustic, hydroacoustic, magnetoacoustic, mechanoacoustic, microacoustic, nonacoustic, optoacoustic, otacoustic, otoacoustic, photoacoustic, physioacoustic, polyacoustic, psychoacoustic, semi-acoustic, semiacoustic, subacoustic, superacoustic, thermoacoustic, unacoustic, vestibuloacoustic, vibracoustic, vibroacoustic

acoustic

noun

Plural normally The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.

Medicine, Sciences A medicine or other agent to assist hearing.

Abbreviation, Clipping Clipping of acoustic guitar.

acoustic

adj

Etymology Due to the shared metrical structure of autistic and acoustic. Popularized on TikTok in late October 2023.

Internet, Euphemistic, Humorous, Offensive, Sometimes Euphemistic form of autistic.

Implying mathematicians aren't acoustic. I'm an engineer, and even mathematicians freak me out with their autism.2014 November 22, u/Victorboris1, “anon is acoustic”, in Reddit, r/4chan, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:
Spinners are for severely acoustic children2017 May 14, “Are ADHD spinners /ourtoy/ ?”, in Reddit, r/4chan, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:

3 more examples

I explained I got a 3 day ban for calling someone acoustic because it's bullying/harassment, hence the use of acoustic.[2023 July 7, “Anon is a little acoustic”, in Reddit, r/4chan, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:
cant stand self diagnosed acoustic people ☠️2023 December 2, @ScarletGodzilla, Twitter, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:
the whole "is he acoustic" tiktok comment shit is so fucking annoying and just ableist at this point and i'm so sick of it2023 December 4, @yeahabsolutelyy, Twitter, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.