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Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing

Echolocation

noun / ek-oh-loh-KAY-shun / Medium
Meaning

The biological process of emitting sound waves and interpreting their echoes to locate and identify objects — used by certain animals (bats, dolphins, whales) to navigate in the absence of light

Origin / Etymology

Coined 1944 by US zoologist Donald Griffin: echo (Greek ēchō, 'sound') + location (Latin locus, 'place')

Synonyms
Biosonar Acoustic navigation Biological sonar
Antonyms
Vision-based navigation (conceptual opposite)
Example Sentence
"The Indus River dolphin is functionally blind and relies entirely on echolocation to navigate the turbid waters of the Beas River and detect prey."
🎯 UPSC Usage

Use in GS3 Environment and Biodiversity answers on cetacean conservation, river dolphin ecology, or adaptation to extreme environments. The term appears in context of the Gangetic dolphin (National Aquatic Animal), the Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor), and bat conservation in forest ecology questions. Also relevant in GS3 S&T contexts where sonar technology is discussed as biomimicry.

Relevant Subjects
Environment Science Tech
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