Ma'anar ƙamus na sonar shine "tsari don gano abubuwa da kuma auna zurfin ruwa ta hanyar fitar da bugun sauti da gano ko auna dawowar su bayan an nuna su."Kalmar "sonar" " shi ne gajarce ma'anar " kewayawa da sauti." Ana amfani da shi a fannoni daban-daban, ciki har da kewayawa, taswirar ruwa, kamun kifi, da aikace-aikacen soja. Sonar yana aiki ta hanyar fitar da raƙuman sauti mai ƙarfi sannan kuma auna lokacin da waɗannan raƙuman ruwa ke ɗauka don komawa baya bayan buga wani abu a cikin ruwa. Ta hanyar nazarin sautin ƙararrawa, tsarin sonar zai iya tantance wuri, girma, da siffar abubuwan da ke ƙarƙashin ruwa, da kuma zurfin ruwan.