Headphone
'hedfoʊn
Definitions
A device that converts electrical signals to sound waves, worn over or in the ears for listening.
'hedfoʊn
A device worn over the ears to receive sound.
She put on her headphones and started listening to a podcast.
💡 Simply: Headphones are like tiny speakers that you put on your ears, so you can listen to your music, games, or videos without bothering anyone else. It's like having a private concert!
👶 For kids: A thing you wear on your ears to listen to sounds.
More Examples
The noise-canceling headphones blocked out the sound of the airplane.
I need to buy new headphones because my old ones broke.
How It's Used
"I use headphones to listen to music on my commute."
"The customer service representative wore headphones while taking calls."
"Gamers often wear headphones to enhance the sound experience and communicate with teammates."
A compound word formed from 'head' and 'phone,' reflecting its function as a device worn on the head to receive sound. It emerged with the development of early radio and telephone technology.
The term 'headphone' gained popularity with the advent of portable audio players and personal computing in the late 20th century, although the basic technology predates this.
Memory tip
Imagine a phone on your head! That's a headphone.
Word Origin
"The part of the body above the neck; also, the direction the phone is designed for"