---
title: decibel — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «decibel» in the school dictionary: A decibel is a unit for measuring how loud a sound is. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# decibel

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** decibel, unit, sound, whisper, concert, Sounds · **What happens:** be, measure, reach, harm, hear, whistle · **To what, where:** unit, 30 decibels, 110 decibels, hearing, playground noise, decibels

<!-- .vabout -->
«decibel» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [decibel in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/decibel.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A decibel is a unit for measuring how loud a sound is.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:m1:1
# text = A decibel is a unit for measuring how loud a sound is.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	decibel	decibel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	unit	unit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	measuring	measure	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
8	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
9	loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	ccomp	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a decibel | a unit |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **measure** | gerund | a unit *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present | a sound |  |  |  |  | loud *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A whisper is about 30 decibels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x1:1
# text = A whisper is about 30 decibels.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	whisper	whisper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	about	about	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a whisper | 30 decibels |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The concert reached 110 decibels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x2:1
# text = The concert reached 110 decibels.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	concert	concert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	reached	reach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	110	110	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reach** | past | the concert | 110 decibels |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent decibel=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sounds above 85 decibels can harm your hearing over time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x3:1
# text = Sounds above 85 decibels can harm your hearing over time.
1	Sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
2	above	above	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	85	85	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	harm	harm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	hearing	hearing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	over	over	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **harm** | can | Sounds above 85 decibels | your hearing |  |  | time |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus hearing=Experiencer |
| 2 | **hear** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom hearing «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We measured the playground noise in decibels with an app.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x4:1
# text = We measured the playground noise in decibels with an app.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	measured	measure	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	playground	playground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	app	app	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **measure** | past | We | the playground noise |  | decibels |  | with a app | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme noise=Value |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher's whistle was very high in decibels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x5:1
# text = The teacher's whistle was very high in decibels.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	whistle	whistle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the teacher's whistle |  |  | decibels |  | high *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **whistle** |  | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | nom whistle «event intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lower the volume on your headphones to keep the decibels down.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:decibel:x6:1
# text = Lower the volume on your headphones to keep the decibels down.
1	Lower	lower	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	volume	volume	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	headphones	headphone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	decibels	decibel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
11	down	down	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lower** | imperative | you *not said here* | the volume |  | your headphones |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent volume=Theme on headphone=Destination |
| 2 | **keep down** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | the decibels |  |  |  | down *property* | vn subjugate-42.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent decibel=Patient |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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