decibel

D2E1C3I1B3E1L1
US/ˈdɛsɪbɛl/US/ˈdɛsɪbəl/

noun

A common measure of intensity ratio (e.g. for sound) that is one tenth of a bel on the logarithmic intensity scale. It is defined as dB = 10 log₁₀(P₁ / P₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the relative intensities.

Similar
dB
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

noundecibel (plural decibels)

plural decibels · alternative dB

  1. A common measure of intensity ratio (e.g. for sound) that is one tenth of a bel on the logarithmic intensity scale. It is defined as dB = 10 log₁₀(P₁ / P₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the relative intensities.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity

Similar
dB
Broader
sound unit

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From deci- + bel.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Chinese Mandarin 分貝 /分贝
  • 分貝 /分贝 (fēnbèi)a common measure of relative intensity
Czech decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Danish decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Dutch decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Finnish desibeli
  • desibelia common measure of relative intensity
French décibel
  • décibela common measure of relative intensity
German Dezibel
  • Dezibela common measure of relative intensity
Greek ντεσιμπέλ
  • ντεσιμπέλ (ntesimpél)a common measure of relative intensity
Hawaiian ikakani
  • ikakania common measure of relative intensity
Hebrew דֵּצִיבֵּל
  • דֵּצִיבֵּל (detsibél)a common measure of relative intensity
Hungarian decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Icelandic desibel
  • desibela common measure of relative intensity
Italian decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Japanese デシベル
  • デシベル (deshiberu)a common measure of relative intensity
Korean 데시벨
  • 데시벨 (desibel)a common measure of relative intensity
Latvian decibels
  • decibelsa common measure of relative intensity
Lithuanian decibelas
  • decibelasa common measure of relative intensity
Malay desibel
  • desibela common measure of relative intensity
Māori wae paoro
  • wae paoroa common measure of relative intensity
Norwegian Bokmål decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Polish decybel
  • decybela common measure of relative intensity
Portuguese decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Romanian decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Russian децибе́л
  • децибе́л (decibél)a common measure of relative intensity
Spanish decibelio
  • decibelioa common measure of relative intensity
Swedish decibel
  • decibela common measure of relative intensity
Turkish desibel
  • desibela common measure of relative intensity
Cite this entry
APA

decibel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decibel

MLA

“decibel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decibel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decibel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decibel.

Source: decibel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.