What does "loud" mean?

1. (high volume) making a lot of noise or easy to hear. 2. (bright or gaudy) having colours or patterns that are too bright and not very tasteful. 3. (strong-smelling or high-quality) having a very strong smell or being of very high quality. 4. (with great volume) in a way that makes a lot of noise. 5. (a loud sound) a sound that is very noisy or the noisy part of a recording.

loud — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "He spoke very loud during the meeting."?

No — say "He spoke very loudly during the meeting.". While 'loud' can be an adverb, 'loudly' is the standard choice for modifying a verb in formal writing.

Word

01high volume

A2 · Elementary

adj. making a lot of noise or easy to hear.

adj. producing or capable of producing much noise; high in decibel level.

“The music was so loud that I could not hear what she was saying.”

“The loud construction noise from the street made it impossible for the researchers to concentrate on their data analysis.”

Pitfall

He spoke very loud during the meeting.

He spoke very loudly during the meeting.

While 'loud' can be an adverb, 'loudly' is the standard choice for modifying a verb in formal writing.

Synonyms

noisy blaring deafening

Antonyms

quiet soft silent

02bright or gaudy

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. having colours or patterns that are too bright and not very tasteful.

adj. vulgar or tasteless in colour or design; garish.

“He wore a loud shirt with bright yellow flowers to the office party.”

“The interior designer warned that such a loud wallpaper pattern would overwhelm the small guest bedroom.”

Synonyms

gaudy flashygarish

Antonyms

subtle muted plain

03strong-smelling or high-quality

C1 · Advanced Slang

adj. having a very strong smell or being of very high quality.

adj. possessing a pungent or powerful odour; used in specific subcultures to denote high-grade products.

“That cheese has a very loud smell that fills the whole kitchen.”

“The herbalist noted that the fresh batch of lavender was particularly loud, indicating a high concentration of essential oils.”

Synonyms

pungent strong

Antonyms

faint weak

04with great volume

A2 · Elementary

adv. in a way that makes a lot of noise.

adv. with high volume; often used in comparative forms or specific idioms like 'out loud'.

“She read the letter out loud so everyone in the room could hear the news.”

“The protesters shouted their slogans loud enough to be heard by the officials inside the parliament building.”

Usage

Often used in the fixed phrase 'out loud' or in informal comparisons like 'don't talk so loud'.

Synonyms

loudly

Antonyms

quietly

05a loud sound

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Technical

n. a sound that is very noisy or the noisy part of a recording.

n. a sound of great intensity or the high-amplitude portion of an audio signal.

“The sudden loud from the engine made the driver pull over immediately.”

“The sound engineer adjusted the levels to ensure the louds did not distort the overall clarity of the vocal track.”

Synonyms

noise blast

Antonyms

silence

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “loud” in context.

01. loud bang 02. loud music

From Middle English loude, loud, lud, from Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”), from Proto-West Germanic hlūd, from Proto-Germanic hlūdaz, hlūþaz (“heard”), from Proto-Indo-European ḱlewtos (“heard, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). More at listen. Cognates Akin to Scots loud, lowd (“loud”), Swedish ljud, West Frisian lûd (“loud”), Dutch luid (“loud”), Low German lud (“loud”), German laut (“loud”), Irish clú (“repute”), Welsh clywed (“heard”), clod (“praise”), Latin laudare (“praise”), Tocharian A/B klots/klautso 'ear', klyostär 'heard', Ancient Greek κλυτός (klutós, “famous”), Albanian quaj (“to name, call”), shquar (“famous, notorious”), Old Armenian լու (lu, “the act of hearing”), Old Church Slavonic слава (slava, “glory”), слово (slovo, “word”), Sanskrit श्रव (śráva, “glory”).