ambient

1 of 2

adjective

am·bi·ent ˈam-bē-ənt

Synonyms of ambient next

: existing or present on all sides : encompassing

the ambient air temperature

ambient light

ambient sound

: of or relating to ambient music (see ambient entry 2 sense 2)

ambient

2 of 2

noun

: an encompassing atmosphere : environment

: music intended to serve as an unobtrusive accompaniment to other activities (as in a public place) and characterized especially by quiet and repetitive instrumental melodies

Did you know?

Biologists explore the effects of ambient light on plants; acoustics experts try to control ambient sound; and meteorologists study ambient pressure, air, or temperature. All this can make ambient seem like a technical term, but when it first saw light of day, that all-encompassing adjective was as likely to be used in poetry as in science. John Milton used it in Paradise Lost, and Alexander Pope wrote of a mountain "whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds conceal'd." Both poets and scientists who use ambient owe a debt to the Latin verb ambire, meaning "to go around," the grandparent of our English word.

Examples of ambient in a Sentence

Adjective Keep the chemicals at an ambient temperature of 70°F. the bright ambient light of the room People shopped as ambient music played in the background. Noun observing how the survival techniques of primates vary with the ambient

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adjective

Also standard are dual-zone automatic climate control, proximity keyless entry, push-button start, interior ambient lighting, and a 12-volt power outlet. —

James Raia, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024 Finally, with a twist of the ambient magnetic field, tiny tornadoes swirl into existence, pirouetting in the darkness. —

Quanta Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024

Noun

As the trend has evolved, many of the more popular vaporwave clips have been those that place ambient sounds over Weather Channel broadcasts from the ’80s and ’90s. —

Ade D. Adeniji, WIRED, 17 Sep. 2024 Zipping around subgenres — mixing and matching ambient, chillout, trap, acid house, and choral music — supplies the pair with gorgeous scenery to chew, distracting from Bad Cameo’s Achilles’ heel: a melodic maturity and professionalism exceeding what the lyrics seem capable of. —

Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for ambient

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Latin ambient-, ambiens, present participle of ambiō, ambīre "to visit in rotation, solicit (political support), seek to obtain, surround, encircle, embrace," from amb- "around, on both sides" + eō, īre "to go"; amb- going back to Indo-European *h₂m̥b^hi "around," whence also Germanic *umbi- (whence Old English ymbe "around, about," Old Frisian umbe, Old Saxon & Old High German umbi "around, about, concerning," Old Icelandic um, umb "around, about, beyond, over"), Gaulish ambi- "around (in names)," Old Irish imb, imm "around, about," Welsh & Breton am, Greek amphí "about, on both sides of," Armenian amb- (in ambołǰ "whole, intact"), Old Avestan aibī "for," Old Persian abiy "to, toward," Sanskrit abhí — more at issue entry 1

Note: The Latin prefix amb- is peculiar in that the expected linking vowel -i- never occurs; before consonants it syncopates, with consequent assimilation: -b- drops, and -m- becomes -n- before non-labial sounds (see amplexus, amputate, ancilla, anfractuous). Indo-European *h₂m̥b^hi may have developed from *h²n̥t-b^hi, a frozen instrumental plural form of the noun *h²ent- "front, face" (see ante-). The same noun figures in *h₂(e)nt-b^hoh₁ "both" (see ambi-).

Noun

derivative of ambient entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of ambient was in 1572

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ambient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambient. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

ambient

adjective

am·bi·ent

ˈam-bē-ənt

: surrounding on all sides

Medical Definition

ambient

adjective

am·bi·ent ˈam-bē-ənt

: surrounding on all sides

the ambient environment

ambient air pollution

Last Updated: 20 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

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ambient

adjective

noun

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Synonyms

Examples of ambient in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near ambient

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition