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caliper

American  
[kal-uh-per] / ˈkæl ə pər /
Or calliper

noun

  1. Usually calipers. an instrument for measuring thicknesses and internal or external diameters inaccessible to a scale, consisting usually of a pair of adjustable pivoted legs.

  2. any of various calibrated instruments for measuring thicknesses or distances between surfaces, usually having a screwed or sliding adjustable piece.

  3. thickness or depth, as of paper or a tree.

  4. Usually calipers. the pincers of an earwig.

  5. Automotive. the part of a disc-brake assembly that straddles the disc and presses the brake pads against it.

  6. a similar part used with a hand brake on a bicycle.

verb (used with object)

  1. to measure with calipers.

verb (used without object)

  1. to use calipers.

caliper British  
/ ˈkælɪpə /

noun

  1. the usual US spelling of calliper

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
caliper Scientific  
/ kăl′ə-pər /

  1. An instrument consisting of two curved legs connected at a hinge, used to measure thickness and distance. Often used in the plural as calipers.

Etymology

Origin of caliper

First recorded in 1580–90; presumably variant of caliber

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.