odometer

American  

[oh-dom-i-ter] / oʊˈdɒm ɪ tər /

noun

1. an instrument for measuring distance traveled, as by an automobile.

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odometer British  

/ ɒˈdɒmɪtə, əʊ- /

noun

1. Also called: mileometer.  a device that records the number of miles that a bicycle or motor vehicle has travelled

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odometer Scientific  

/ ō-dŏm′ĭ-tər /

1. An instrument for indicating the distance traveled by a vehicle, typically by measuring the number of rotations of a wheel or fan whose rate of rotation depends on the speed of the vehicle.

2. Compare speedometer

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Other Word Forms

• odometrical adjective
• odometry noun

Etymology

Origin of odometer

1785–95, variant of hodometer < Greek hodó ( s ) way + -meter

Explanation

The instrument in your car that shows you how far you've driven is called an odometer. When you buy a used car, it's important to check the odometer to see how many miles it has traveled. The odometers in today's cars are electronic, but there may be an odometer on any form of transportation, including your bike, and some of these may run mechanically. There's historical evidence that odometers were used in both ancient Greece and ancient China. In the seventeenth century, odometers measured the distance traveled by horse-drawn carriages. Odometer comes from the Greek roots hodos, "way," and metron, "a measure."

Example Sentences

He said the state could combat cheating by shrinking the price difference between regular and historic plates, and by pairing mileage limits with odometer checks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Bloomberg Kiel Porter reported he paid just over $30,000 in November for a used 2022 Honda CR-V hybrid with 41,000 miles on the odometer.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2025

The odometer is the device which measures the distance travelled by the vehicle.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2025

His stunning departure came just five years after winning a national championship and at a relatively youthful 55, with seemingly a few more hundred wins left on his coaching odometer.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2024

He already had a perfectly good car, he insisted: a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented but mechanically sound, with 128,000 miles on the odometer.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer