noise

Etymology

From Middle English noyse, noise, from Old French noise (“a dispute, wrangle, strife, noise”), of uncertain origin. According to some, from Latin nausia, nausea (“disgust, nausea”); according to others, from Latin noxia (“hurt, harm, damage, injury”); but neither explanation is satisfactory in regard to either form or sense.

noun

1. (uncountable) Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant.
   He knew that it was trash day, when the garbage collectors made all the noise.
   Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour. 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax
2. Any sound.
   The sudden noise made everyone jump.
   She crept up behind him not making a noise.
3. Sound or signal generated by random fluctuations.
4. (technology) Any part of a signal or data that reduces the clarity, precision, or quality of the desired output.
   signal-to-noise ratio
   On the technical side, the scanning and OCR of texts, in combination with the graphic design of high school text books, introduced a certain level of noise into the corpus which in turn led to a higher tagging error rate than usual and may affect count precision. 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Position vectors, homologous chromosomes and gamma rays: Promoting disciplinary literacy through Secondary Phrase Lists”, in English for Specific Purposes, →DOI, page 11
5. (figurative, by extension) Unwanted fuss or bustle; useless activity.
   In order to provide coherence and confidence, the leader must dramatically turn down the noise level in the organization, eliminate any unnecessary distractions that inevitably get in the way of execution, and banish the fear of uncertainty. 2013, R. Douglas Williamson, Straight Talk on Leadership: Solving Canada's Business Crisis
6. (genetics) The measured level of variation in gene expression among cells, regardless of source, within a supposedly identical population.
7. Rumour or complaint.
   The problems with the new computer system are causing a lot of noise at Head Office.
   1709-1710, Thomas Baker, Reflections on Learning What noise have we had for fome Years about Transplantation of diseases and transfusion of blood!
   He [Socrates] lived in Athens during the great plague, which has made so much noise through all ages. October 13, 1711, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, No. 195
8. (informal) Speech that is suggestive of an attitude or opinion.
   Despite encouraging noises made by politicians from time to time, the two sides there have never been further from an agreement. 2012, Richard Oliver Collin, Pamela L. Martin, An Introduction to World Politics, page 425
9. (obsolete) Music, in general; a concert; also, a company of musicians; a band.
10. (music) A genre of rock music that uses static and other non-musical sounds, also influenced by art rock.

verb

1. (intransitive) To make a noise; to sound.
2. (transitive) To spread news of; to spread as rumor or gossip.