What does echo mean?
An echo is, at its most literal, a sound that bounces off a hard surface — a canyon wall, a large empty room — and returns to the listener a split second after the original, creating the eerie sensation of hearing one's own voice repeated. By extension, the word describes any repetition or reflection: a writer may echo a predecessor's style, a speech may echo sentiments expressed years earlier, and old buildings can hold the echoes of past lives. As a verb, it means both to produce such a reflected sound ('the halls echoed with applause') and to repeat or imitate another's words or ideas. The term derives ultimately from Greek mythology, where Echo was a nymph cursed to repeat the speech of others. Today it is a versatile, neutral word equally at home in physics, everyday conversation, and literary criticism, prized for the way it links the acoustic phenomenon to ideas of memory, influence, and repetition.
A sound or series of sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves back to the listener; figuratively, a repetition or trace of something said, felt, or experienced earlier.
"We shouted into the gorge and listened as each echo faded into silence."
Countable when referring to individual reflected sounds ('an echo', 'three echoes'); uncountable use is rare.
To be reflected back as sound, or to repeat, imitate, or express agreement with the words, ideas, or actions of another.
"Several senators echoed the president's call for reform."
The plural adds '-es' because the word ends in a sibilant 'ch' sound (/oʊ/ preceded by /k/). The singular possessive is 'echo's'; the plural possessive is 'echoes'.
"The cathedral's stone vaults threw back strange echoes of our footsteps."
In Greek myth, the nymph Echo was cursed to only repeat the words of others — and she wasted away longing for Narcissus until nothing remained of her but her voice.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of echo
The English word 'echo' comes directly from Latin echo, borrowed from Greek ēkhō, meaning 'sound' or 'reflected sound'. In Greek mythology, Echo was a mountain nymph punished by Hera to speak only by repeating others' words, which gave her name its lasting association with reflected sound. The word entered English in the Middle Ages via Latin scholarly usage and has retained a remarkably stable form and sense ever since. Its Greek root also underlies modern compounds like 'echolocation', coined in the twentieth century for the sonar-like navigation used by bats and dolphins.
Related word forms
How echo is actually used
As a verb, 'echo' works both transitively ('she echoed his concerns') and intransitively ('the hall echoed with laughter'). The figurative senses — echoing ideas, opinions, or eras — are extremely common in journalism and criticism and carry a neutral to slightly literary tone. The plural 'echoes' is standard; the older variant 'echo' used as a plural is obsolete.
Easily confused with echo
'Echo' refers to a reflected or repeated sound (or the mythological nymph), while 'ego' means a person's sense of self-esteem or identity.
'Eco-' is a prefix relating to ecology or the environment (as in 'eco-friendly'), whereas an 'echo' is a repeated or reflected sound.