foghorn

American  

[fog-hawrn, fawg-] / ˈfɒgˌhɔrn, ˈfɔg- /

noun

1. a deep, loud horn for sounding warning signals in foggy weather, as to ships.

2. a deep, loud voice.

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foghorn British  

/ ˈfɒɡˌhɔːn /

noun

1. a mechanical instrument sounded at intervals to serve as a warning to vessels in fog

2. informal a loud deep resounding voice

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Etymology

Origin of foghorn

First recorded in 1855–60; fog ¹ + horn

Example Sentences

Fellow whale songs, murmuring currents, the occasional foghorn, perhaps.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2024

To the human ear, the hum might sound like a single note on a French horn or a foghorn.

From Science Daily • Jan. 3, 2024

He lets out a foghorn sound before he’s told to turn back over.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2023

Once a prehistoric denizen of the deeps, it comes ashore on a tsunami tide, tall as a thunderhead, shrugging off artillery as it bellows a foghorn scream.

From Scientific American • Nov. 3, 2023

They swung around and above, the tern dæmon keeping close like a child to its mother, and watched the steersman adjust the course slightly as the foghorn boomed again.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman