echolocationnoun [ U ]
/ˌek.əʊ.ləʊˈkeɪ.ʃən//ˌek.oʊ.loʊˈkeɪ.ʃən/a process in which animals, for example bats (= small animals with wings that fly at night), find their way in the dark by producing sound waves that echo (= are heard again) when they are reflected off an object:
Dolphins locate underwater creatures using echolocation.
echolocate
verb [ I ] /ˌek.əʊ.ləʊˈkeɪt//ˌek.oʊ.loʊˈkeɪt/
We are studying the intricate mental circuitry that allows bats to echolocate.