sound off

verb

sounded off; sounding off; sounds off
Synonyms of sound offnext

intransitive verb

1
: to play three chords before and after marching up and down a line of troops during a ceremonial parade or formal guard mount
2
: to count cadence while marching
3
a
: to speak up in a loud voice
b
: to voice one's opinions freely and vigorously

Synonyms of sound off

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of sound off in a Sentence

she never missed a chance to sound off about the latest “stupid” political decisions the guard captain commanded each sentry to sound off
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Multiple season-ticket holders sounded off on season-ticket deadlines, saying in the past they were required to begin 25% payments in December to receive the perk of 20 free tickets for certain games. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026 Fans of Wetzel were quick to sound off in the comments section with plenty of reactions. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 Elaine Hendrix is sounding off about Tuesday’s shocking elimination on Dancing With the Stars season 35. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026 Her video also gained attention on X, where users sounded off in quote-tweets and replies, boosting the tweet to over 9 million views in three days. — Owen Carry, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sound off

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sound off was in 1909

Rhymes for sound off

See All Rhymes for sound off

Browse Nearby Words

soundness
sound off
sound-on-film
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sound off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sound%20off. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

sound off

verb
1
: to count while marching
2
: to voice one's opinions freely with force
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All