Phrase guide

line noise

noun · 3 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Spurious characters due to signal noise in a communications link.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Data that looks random, as when outputting a binary file as text.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, programming, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Incomprehensible source code or other textual material (often due to terseness or overuse of operators).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

Examples

  • 2000, Simon Cozens, Ten Perl Myths, perl.com, In short, Perl doesn't write illegible Perl, people do. If you can stop yourself being one of them, we can agree that Perl's reputation for looking like line noise is no more than a myth.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.