If a tree falls in the forest

The other day somebody told me that they enjoy my opinions and asked what I thought about the question "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it; does it make a sound?" At first I said yes and my reasoning was that the existence of sound doesn't depend on whether or not there is a ear around, however someone pointed out that sound doesn't really exist until the sound waves are picked up.

The thing about this question is that it hinges on what you mean when you say the word "sound," if by sound you mean the creation of sound waves than of course it makes a sound. If by sound you mean the perception of sound waves that of course the tree does not make a sound. But if this question hinges out what you mean when you say a certain word than I don't think it's really worth very much philosophical or scientific reasoning.