Phrase guide

drown out

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To cover, obscure, or overwhelm by being louder or more intense than.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • He uses the music to drown out other noises around him.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outdin

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

make imperceptible

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The noise from the ice machine drowned out the music

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: make noise, resound, noise

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: přehlušit — to cover
  • Danish: overdøve — to cover
  • Dutch: overstemmen — to cover
  • German: übertönen — to cover
  • Latin: obsōnō — to cover
  • Norwegian Bokmål: overdøve — to cover
  • Russian: заглуша́ть (zaglušátʹ) — to cover
  • Russian: заглуши́ть (zaglušítʹ) — to cover
  • Swedish: överrösta — to cover
  • Ukrainian: заглуша́ти (zahlušáty) — to cover
  • Ukrainian: заглу́шувати (zahlúšuvaty) — to cover
  • Ukrainian: заглуши́ти (zahlušýty) — to cover