megaphone

technology

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

A megaphone is a cone-shaped device used to amplify or direct sound, most commonly the human voice. The word itself combines "mega-" meaning large, and "-phone" meaning sound.1

Megaphones can be used literally to make a voice louder for a crowd, or figuratively to represent a platform for widespread communication. The term can also be used as a verb, meaning to transmit or address something through a megaphone, or to speak through one. The first known use of the word "megaphone" was in 1878.12

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Theatrical uses
…by means of a built-in megaphone device and, by exaggeration of the features, to make clear at a distance the precise nature of the character. Moreover, their use made it possible for the Greek actors—who were limited by convention to three speakers for each tragedy—to impersonate a number of different…
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…by means of a built-in megaphone device and, by exaggeration of the features, to make clear at a distance the precise nature of the character. Moreover, their use made it possible for the Greek actors—who were limited by convention to three speakers for each tragedy—to impersonate a number of different…
Read More