ultrasound
/ʌl.tɹə.saʊnd/noun, verb
ultrasound is a noun meaning “Sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, which is approximately 20 kilohertz” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled U-L-T-R-A-S-O-U-N-D and has 3 syllables, and it appears 3.2 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of ultrasound is ultrasounds.
What does ultrasound mean?
noun
- 1
Sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, which is approximately 20 kilohertz.
- 2
informalUltrasonography.
- 3
informalMedical ultrasonography.
- 4
Therapeutically applied ultrasonic energy.
verb
- 1
To treat (someone or something) with ultrasound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce ultrasound?
- /ʌl.tɹə.saʊnd/
- Australia /ɔl.t͡ʃɹə.sæɔnd/
- Australia [ɔʊ̯.t͡ʃɹə.sæɔ̯nd]
Ultrasound has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ultrasound.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ultrasound
- ultrasounds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ultrasounding participle, present
- ultrasounded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is ultrasound?
Ultrasound appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,731st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you abbreviate ultrasound?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of ultrasound: U/S, u/s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ultrasound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sound:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ultrason |
| German | Ultraschall |
| Portuguese | ultrassom |
| Spanish | ultrasonido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ultrasound come from?
From ultra- + sound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).