sound bite
/ˈsaʊndbaɪt/
"sound-bite" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sound bite” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An extract from a speech or interview used as edited into a news or other broadcast; an interview clip, especially seen as particularly expressive or pithy.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sound-bite · sound bite · English
sound bite · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sound bite |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsaʊndbaɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “sound bite” in English
Rare enough to double-check
sound bite is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsaʊndbaɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for sound bite in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is sound bite, spelled S-O-U-N-D- -B-I-T-E.
Definition
- 1An extract from a speech or interview used as edited into a news or other broadcast; an interview clip, especially seen as particularly expressive or pithy.
- 2A one-liner deliberately produced for this purpose; a statement specifically intended to be punchy and memorable.
- 3Synonym of sound clip.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sound bite appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudo-science and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.
The ground offensive against Iraq ended after 100 hours, partly out of concern that American troops not occupy an Arab capital, partly because Arab allies feared the disintegration of Iraq and partly because a “100-hour war” made a good sound bite.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.