thermometer

[ ther-mom-i-ter ]

noun

1. an instrument for measuring temperature, often a sealed glass tube that contains a column of liquid, as mercury, that expands and contracts, or rises and falls, with temperature changes, the temperature being read where the top of the column coincides with a calibrated scale marked on the tube or its frame.

thermometer

/ θəˈmɒmɪtə /

noun

1. an instrument used to measure temperature, esp one in which a thin column of liquid, such as mercury, expands and contracts within a graduated sealed tube See also clinical thermometer gas thermometer resistance thermometer thermocouple pyrometer

thermometer

/ thər-mŏm′ĭ-tər /

1. An instrument used to measure temperature. There are many types of thermometers; the most common consist of a closed, graduated glass tube in which a liquid expands or contracts as the temperature increases or decreases. Other types of thermometers work by detecting changes in the volume or pressure of an enclosed gas or by registering thermoelectric changes in a conductor (such as a thermistor or thermocouple).

Other Words From

• ther·mo·met·ric [thur-m, uh, -, me, -trik], thermo·metri·cal adjective
• thermo·metri·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of thermometer¹

First recorded in 1615–25; thermo- + -meter

Example Sentences

Over the last decade, thermometers in that neighborhood have climbed to 110 degrees or hotter at least two dozen times.

From Los Angeles Times

Not when a summer heat wave threatens to drive the thermometer up to 119, and the civic conversation turns to the desperate need for cooling centers.

From Los Angeles Times

“I don’t want my bare feet on that,” says ranger Anna Marini as she shows her thermometer gun reading to a couple visiting from Switzerland, who are appropriately awed.

From Los Angeles Times

Tuesday, saying conditions would be dangerously hot, with the thermometer expected to reach 110 degrees.

From Los Angeles Times

The thermometer read 95 degrees but down on the beach volleyball court, with all that gleaming white sand, it felt like 102.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• instrument
• thermostat