gyrostabilizer

[ jahy-ruh-stey-buh-lahy-zer ]

noun

1. a device for stabilizing a seagoing vessel by counteracting its rolling motion from side to side, consisting essentially of a rotating gyroscope weighing about 1 percent of the displacement of the vessel.

gyrostabilizer

/ ˌdʒaɪrəʊˈsteɪbɪˌlaɪzə /

noun

1. a gyroscopic device used to stabilize the rolling motion of a ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of gyrostabilizer¹

First recorded in 1920–25; gyro(scope) + stabilizer

Example Sentences

The camera sat atop a handheld gyrostabilizer, a compact cylindrical device that weighs an additional six pounds, and contains two wheels spinning at twenty thousand r.p.m.s, providing a constant counterforce against jolts or vibration.

From The New Yorker

To keep her steady in rough seas she will contain a $1,000,000 gyrostabilizer weighing 300 tons.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rock love is something a body has in the heart, like a steamship's giant gyrostabilizer, to keep from floundering on temptation or drifting with the storm.

From Time Magazine Archive

German officialdom paid a reluctant but handsome compliment to U.S. tanks last week, and incidentally pried the lid off a hush-hush American development�a gyrostabilizer mount to keep the tank gun aiming steadily.

From Time Magazine Archive

Inc. sells a gyrocompass which is standard equipment on most liners, gyrostabilizer to prevent ships from rolling, gyro-horizon to indicate the attitude of planes in relation to the horizontal, directional gyro to indicate direction for steering a straight course.

From Time Magazine Archive