noun · 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.
sŭb′wo͝of′ər
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈsʌbˌwʊf.ə/
Canada, General-American:/ˈsʌbˌwʊf.əɹ/
Australian:/ˈsɐbˌwʊf.ə/
New-Zealand:/ˈsɐbˌwʊf.ɐ/
Scotland:/ˈsʌbˌwʉf.əɹ/
rhymes with -ʌbwʊfə(ɹ)
1
noun
Meaning 1
A loudspeaker designed to produce low-frequency sound, especially subbass.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sub
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: loudspeaker
2
noun
Meaning 2
a loudspeaker that is designed to reproduce very low bass frequencies
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: loudspeaker, speaker, speaker unit, loudspeaker system, speaker system
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- English woof English -er English woofer English subwoofer From sub- + woofer.
Across languages
Translations
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
低音炮
(dīyīnpào)
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Danish:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Dutch:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Finnish:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Finnish:
alaäänikaiutin
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Finnish:
subbari
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
French:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
German:
Subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Irish:
fo-dhordaire
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Japanese:
サブウーファー
(sabuūfā)
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Korean:
서브우퍼
(seobeuupeo)
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Macedonian:
ниското́нец
(niskotónec)
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Malay:
subwufer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Portuguese:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Russian:
сабву́фер
(sabvúfer)
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Swedish:
subwoofer
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
Swedish:
sub
— a woofer dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies
