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Glite Dictionary
🙄 A complainer 🔊 A loud noisemaker 📢 A sound speaker
squawker

squawker

8.6
A speaker used to make announcements inside buildings
  • noun
  • /ˈskwɔːkər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : altavoz
  • He installed a new squawker in the hall to improve sound quality for announcements.

Examples

  • During the emergency drill, the squawker broadcast important instructions to all staff.

  • The conference room was filled with voices, but the squawker ensured everyone could hear the speaker clearly.

  • Where's the squawker?

    Give 'em Hell, Malone (2009)

Synonyms

loudspeaker
vssquawker
41 2.2

A device that turns electric signals into sound to make music or speech louder

is tailored to middle frequencies for clearer speech rather than full range output
squawk box
vssquawker
  • US
1 6.3

A loudspeaker used to talk to people in a building

is built to reproduce middle frequencies rather than full sound ranges
intercom speaker
vssquawker
  • Specialized
3.5

A small speaker that plays voice announcements from an intercom or public address system

is tuned to middle frequencies to make speech clearer
speaker unit
vssquawker
  • Specialized
3.7

A device that turns electric signals into loud sound you can hear from far away

is focused on middle frequencies rather than covering all frequencies

Surface Forms

squawker singular
squawkers plural

Morphology

squawker = squawk (semi-transparent) = squawk + er

Formed by analogy (device that 'squawks'); the naming is predictable but the technical, mid-frequency loudspeaker sense is specialized and may not be obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Squawker comes from the sound word squawk, because the speaker makes a sharp, harsh sound. So a squawker is a loudspeaker named for the 'squawk' sound it makes and is used for announcements.