a remedy for hearing loss or deafness
"The doctor recommended acoustic therapy to help restore my hearing after years of exposure to loud machinery."
The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.
"The concert hall's excellent acoustic design ensured that every note from the orchestra was heard clearly even in the back row."
In plain English: An acoustic is the natural sound of an instrument played without electronic amplification.
"The acoustic of the small theater was perfect for listening to live music without any electronic amplification."
Usage: Use "acoustic" as a noun to refer specifically to the way sound behaves within a space, such as when discussing a room's acoustic. Do not use this form when you simply mean something related to sound; instead, use "acoustics" for the general study or qualities of sound transmission.
Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.
"The acoustic properties of the concert hall allowed every nuance of the orchestra's performance to be heard clearly in the back row."
(of building materials) Used for soundproofing or modifying sound.
"The contractor installed acoustic foam panels on the studio walls to dampen the echo and improve the recording quality."
In plain English: Acoustic describes something that produces sound naturally without electricity, like a guitar with no battery.
"The acoustic guitar sounded much better than the electric one in the small room."
Usage: Use acoustic to describe sound produced naturally by vibrating objects without electronic amplification, such as an acoustic guitar. Do not use it for instruments that rely on electrical pickups and speakers, which are electric or amplified.
The word acoustic comes from Medieval Latin and Ancient Greek, where it originally described something related to the sense of hearing. It entered English with this same meaning, referring specifically to sound or the science of how we hear.