echolocation
noun
echo·lo·ca·tion ˌe-kō-lō-ˈkā-shən 
: a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as a bat) from the objects
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Like agriculture, echolocation, and the river dolphin, the practice that would become effective altruism emerged independently in different places at around the same time. 
Gideon Lewis-kraus, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 Has a highly precise echolocation system that yields torrential downpours three minutes before an outdoor wedding. Henry Alford, The New Yorker, 29 July 2022 Nagel argues that even a scientist who learns everything there is to know about echolocation can never really imagine a bat’s experience, its umwelt. Sadie Dingfelder, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 What makes learning echolocation so enticing though? Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 22 June 2022 For some, like whales and dolphins, that means using echolocation to locate possible prey. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 17 June 2022 Some animals, like toothed whales, use echolocation to find their prey. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2022 But the software makes a number of higher-level connections that are quite subtle, particularly the link between Eno’s technological innovations as a musician and the sonic innovation of echolocation itself. New York Times, 12 Apr. 2022 The low-frequency sonar of warships and submarines directly interferes with dolphins’ echolocation, said Pavel Goldin, a marine biologist specializing in dolphins at the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology in Ukraine. Naomi Cohen, NBC News, 13 May 2022 See More
Gideon Lewis-kraus, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 Has a highly precise echolocation system that yields torrential downpours three minutes before an outdoor wedding. Henry Alford, The New Yorker, 29 July 2022 Nagel argues that even a scientist who learns everything there is to know about echolocation can never really imagine a bat’s experience, its umwelt. Sadie Dingfelder, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 What makes learning echolocation so enticing though? Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 22 June 2022 For some, like whales and dolphins, that means using echolocation to locate possible prey. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 17 June 2022 Some animals, like toothed whales, use echolocation to find their prey. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2022 But the software makes a number of higher-level connections that are quite subtle, particularly the link between Eno’s technological innovations as a musician and the sonic innovation of echolocation itself. New York Times, 12 Apr. 2022 The low-frequency sonar of warships and submarines directly interferes with dolphins’ echolocation, said Pavel Goldin, a marine biologist specializing in dolphins at the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology in Ukraine. Naomi Cohen, NBC News, 13 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1944, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
echolocation
noun
echo·lo·ca·tion ˌe-kō-lō-ˈkā-shən
: a method for locating objects that is used by various animals (as bats and dolphins) and that involves sending out sound waves which are reflected back from the objects to the sender as echoes