radio aerial
- noun
- /ˈreɪdioʊ ˈɛriəl/
- UK
:
antena de radio
- No one has stopped Home Depot from selling plumbing pipe, fearing that it might be used as a gun barrel—although conspiracy theorists might note that radio aerials have pretty much disappeared from cars.
Examples
-
To listen to his favorite stations, he installed a new radio aerial on the roof.
-
Molecules radiate electromagnetic radiation according to the same rules that apply to a radio aerial.
Blog text (18) -
The technician adjusted the radio aerial to improve the signal reception in the building.
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She noticed that the radio aerial was damaged after the storm, affecting her radio signal.
Synonyms
96
3.7
A metal device on a roof or car that sends and receives radio and TV signals
10
5.1
A metal rod or wire that sends and gets radio and TV signals
3
3.2
A metal device on a roof or car that catches radio signals
A device that sends and receives radio signals equally in all directions
An antenna that sends and receives radio signals equally in all directions
How Directional
- Specialized
1
4.1
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
5.8
- UK
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'aerial' denotes an antenna/device for signals and 'radio' specifies the signal type, so a learner who knows both words can infer an antenna for receiving radio signals. This noun–noun compound follows a common and transparent naming pattern cross-linguistically, making it immediately understandable to B1 learners.
Etymology
The noun radio aerial comes from the image of a long stick or wire put up into the air to catch invisible radio waves. aerial means being 'in the air', so the phrase refers to the part that sticks up to receive 'radio signals'.