1483 tr. Adam of Eynsham Reuelation iv He reuoluyd certeyn wordys benethe in hys throte butte he myght not speke them owte saue onely in a voyce onethys audybille and noo thyng intelligibille.

1509 J. Fisher Serm. Henry VIJ (de Worde) sig. A.iv The voyce of a prayer maketh it more audyble.

a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) iii. xxvi. sig. U.vi Y^e Ioyes of heauen are by mannes eares not audible.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 7^v A voice, not softe, weake, piping, womannishe, but audible, stronge, and manlike.

1631 R. Brathwait Whimzies xxiv. 204 Hee was once in election to have beene a Vice-verger in Amsterdam, but he wanted an audible voice.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 266 Eve..with audible lament Discover'd soon the place of her retire. View more context for this quotation

1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxii. 229 I had rather have their silent Prayers, than their audible ones.

1781 S. Johnson Thomson in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets IX. 20 He accompanied the players by audible recitation, till a friendly hint frighted him to silence.

1827 C. Wheatstone in Q. Jrnl. Sci., Lit. & Art July ii. 69 An instrument which, from its rendering audible the weakest sounds, may with propriety be called the Microphone.

1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table xi. 324 I tried to speak twice without making myself distinctly audible.

1939 Fortune Oct. 70/3 Pepper's words were barely audible at first above the hubbub.

1997 Official Theory Test Drivers Large Vehicles (new ed.) iii. ix. 163/1 Some vehicles are fitted with an audible warning device that sounds when the vehicle is being reversed.

2009 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Sept. 57/2 To mammals, which have a fancier middle-ear setup, higher-frequency sounds are also audible.

1603 H. Crosse Vertues Common-wealth sig. Q2^v The minde is nothing so tentible at a good instruction, nor the eare so audible, as at a vaine and sportiue foolerie.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §269 The species of audibles seem to be carried more manifestly through the air than the species of visibles.

1667 H. Oldenburg in R. Boyle Corr. 8 Oct. (2001) III. 348 He received and distinguisht Audibles very perfectly.

1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra ii. vi. 59 The Conceipts of Visibles, are Cleerer and Stronger, than those of Audibles.

1706 R. Brocklesby Explic. Gospel-theism ii. iv. 234/2 Reason..is as..unapplicable to this Principle, as feeling is to audibles, or hearing to things visible.

1794 T. Taylor tr. Plotinus Five Bks. xxix The auditory sense knows audibles.

1807 J. Sinclair Code Health & Longevity IV. 31 The auditory nerves..seem to carry their ideas to the cell of memory, the proper receptacle of audibles.

1863 Musical Times & Singing Class Circular 1 Feb. 387/2 Visibles are sooner carried to the sense than audibles, as appears in thunder and lightning.

1948 R. S. Woodworth Contemp. Schools Psychol. (ed. 2) iv. 75 He wanted to deal with tangibles, visibles, audibles—things or happenings that he could point out to a fellow-observer.

2006 C. Previc Student's Guide Marching viii. 88 Each command consists of three parts: an audible, a movement, and an eye focus. Audibles are the vocalized commands.

1953 Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 9 Aug. c1/3 An ‘audible’ is a play called right on the line of scrimmage as the two teams are lined up before the ball is snapped.

1982 W. Cromartie Annual Madness 398 I didn't know if I'd score when I heard Steve's audible.

1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 19 Jan. b11/1 There is perhaps only one moment when there is enough time to call an audible [in ice hockey]—on the face-off.

2001 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 Dec. a29 The evolutionary approach to the Afghan war was set early... ‘We will be calling audibles every time we come to the line,’ one participant recalls [Condoleeza] Rice saying to [President George] Bush then. Bush as coach would set the game plan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his generals would then change tactics as they saw opportunity or need.

2008 Chicago Tribune 14 Jan. (Midwest Final ed.) iv. 4/4 He's making great audibles and checks at the line based on fronts. That's the way you win football games.

1970 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News 6 Dec. 13 s/5 ‘For salads,’ McLemore said, rallying his defenses, ‘I'll take Reuben's in San Diego.’ Wallack audibled by clearing his throat and staring at the ceiling. ‘The Imperial Palace in San Francisco has the greatest Chinese food in the world,’ McLemore said. The blitz was on.

1972 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 8 Jan. 5/6 ‘The minister was up for this one.’ ‘He audibled hymn 362. It was a good call.’

1994 Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Nexis) 2 Sept. 1 c The doctor advised St. John's football coach John Gagliardi not to go to practice Thursday. Gagliardi, entering his 42nd season, audibled and went anyway—broken leg and all.

2004 M. St. Amant Committed (2005) xxxiii. 264 I paused, looked down at the kids coloring quietly on the floor, and quickly audibled at the line, changing the play call to a more toddler-friendly, ‘Fudge!’