sonobuoyn.
/ˈsəʊnəbɔɪ/, /ˈsɒnəbɔɪ/, U.S. /ˈsoʊnəˌbui/, /ˈsoʊnəˌbɔɪ/, /ˈsɑnəˌbui/, /ˈsɑnəˌbɔɪ/ A floating device equipped to detect underwater sounds, such as sonar signals, and relay them by radio. Cf. sonar buoy n. at sonar n. Compounds 2.Some sonobuoys actively emit sonar signals and are able to determine and transmit the distances or locations of objects they detect.
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society > communication > telecommunication > other types of sound telecommunication > [noun] > apparatus
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sonobuoy1937
1937 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 2 May 15 (caption) This new sono buoy contains hydrophone and short-wave radio.
1950 Engineering 29 Sept. 269/3 There is provision for carrying sono-buoys and military stores on the wings.
1969 New Scientist 28 Aug. 420/2 Passive detection, that is, listening devices such as sono-buoys, can also be used.
1972 Sci. Amer. July 16/3 A hydrophone, dangling from each sonobuoy at a substantial depth, picks up pressure signals that are then relayed by radio to the aircraft.
2014 R. R. Manstan Cold Warriors ii. 33 After decades of modifications and modernizations, the sonobuoy still plays a major role.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1937