noise
• noun 1 a sound, especially one that is loud, unpleasant, or disturbing. 2 continuous or repeated loud, confused sounds. 3 (noises) conventional remarks expressing some emotion or purpose. 4 technical irregular fluctuations accompanying and tending to obscure an electrical signal. • verb 1 (usu. be noised about) dated talk about or make known publicly. 2 literary make much noise. — PHRASES noises off 1 sounds made offstage to be heard by the audience of a play. 2 distracting or intrusive background noise. — DERIVATIVES noiseless adjective. — ORIGIN Old French, from Latin nausea ‘nausea, seasickness’.
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