noise
Pronunciation: (noiz), [key]
— n., v., noised, nois•ing.
—n.
- sound, esp. of a loud, harsh, or confused kind: deafening noises.
- a sound of any kind: to hear a noise at the door.
- loud shouting, outcry, or clamor.
- a nonharmonious or discordant group of sounds.
- an electric disturbance in a communications system that interferes with or prevents reception of a signal or of information, as the buzz on a telephone or snow on a television screen.
- extraneous, irrelevant, or meaningless facts, information, statistics, etc.: The noise in the report obscured its useful information.
- rumor or gossip, esp. slander.
- to speak vaguely; hint: He is making noises to the press about running for public office.
—v.t.
- to spread, as a report or rumor; disseminate (usually fol. by about or abroad): A new scandal is being noised about.
—v.i.
- to talk much or publicly.
- to make a noise, outcry, or clamor.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.