thermometer
[ ther-mom-i-ter ]
/ θərˈmɒm ɪ tər /
noun
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM thermometer
ther·mo·met·ric [thur-muh-me-trik] /ˌθɜr məˈmɛ trɪk/, ther·mo·met·ri·cal, adjective ther·mo·met·ri·cal·ly, adverbWords nearby thermometer
Example sentences from the Web for thermometer
British Dictionary definitions for thermometer
thermometer
/ (θəˈmɒmɪtə) /
noun
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
Medical definitions for thermometer
thermometer
[ thər-mŏm′ĭ-tər ]
n.
An instrument for measuring temperature.
Scientific definitions for thermometer
thermometer
[ thər-mŏm′ĭ-tər ]
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).