bullhorn
22
4.1
- noun
- /ˈbʊlˌhɔrn/
- US
:
megáfono
- A man with a beard and a bullhorn was lifted high above us on a dolly.
Jones, had hidden a bullhorn under his coat as a lawmaker.
- Jones, had hidden a bullhorn under his coat as a lawmaker.
- Surprisingly, we've had to make the case or some some of us have that that is that it's not OK to invade a classroom and start chanting slogans over bullhorns.
- Horns on head, bullhorn hanging Mike Pence somewhere on that slope.
Examples
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The coach shouted instructions through a bullhorn so all the players could hear him on the field.
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In the hallway, anti-textbook organizers used a bullhorn to stir up the crowd.
Academic text (1991) -
So I, I, I hand over the bullhorn to you just to speak to, to our people on the front lines.
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The director held his bullhorn up against the sky, then brought it down.
Fiction book (1997) -
Got his daughter down here, put her on the bullhorn.
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You cannot wake her up with a bullhorn.
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The man vaulted out of the stands, bullhorn in one hand, a piece of paper in the other.
Fiction book (1994) -
Now Calvin could hear a bullhorn blaring somewhere out in front.
Fiction book (1996) -
Ward clapped the bullhorn to his mouth and bawled for the benefit of the stands.
Fiction book (1994) -
Amanda is at the edge of the tarmac calling into the jungle on a bullhorn.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
23
3.6
A cone-shaped tube you hold to your mouth to make your voice louder
22
5.1
A set of microphones and speakers used to make announcements or play music in public
A small speaker you hold to make your voice louder
A cone-shaped device that makes your voice louder and directs it
A device that turns electric signals into loud sound you can hear from far away
How Loud
Surface Forms
Morphology
bullhorn = bull + horn (semi-transparent) = bull + horn
The components 'bull' and 'horn' are literal and suggest a horn-like device for loud sound, but the modern electronic megaphone sense (a portable loudspeaker with microphone and amplifier) is a conventionalized, specialized meaning that may not be fully deducible by all learners.
Etymology
Bullhorn comes from the simple parts bull and horn, like a bull's horn that makes a 'loud' sound. Because early speaking devices were shaped like horns, a bullhorn is a small, handheld speaker that 'makes your voice louder' so a crowd can hear you.