altimeter

noun

al·​tim·​e·​ter al-ˈti-mə-tər How to pronounce altimeter (audio) ˈal-tə-ˌmē-tər How to pronounce altimeter (audio)
: an instrument for measuring altitude
especially : an aneroid barometer designed to register changes in atmospheric pressure accompanying changes in altitude
altimetry
al-ˈti-mə-trē How to pronounce altimeter (audio)
noun

Examples of altimeter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The moon engraving is based on altimeter measurements from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. —Carol Besler, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2024 Despite some technical troubles, including the failure of its altimeter, the company's first lander managed a soft touchdown on the Moon on its side. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2024 Both also pack all of the standard motion and navigation sensors, such as an accelerometer, altimeter, barometer, compass, gyroscope, and magnetometer. —PCMAG, 13 Aug. 2024 Personal artifacts confirmed the identity: an altimeter, a pocket knife, snow goggles, a letter, and a bill for climbing equipment from a London supplier. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for altimeter 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Latin altus "high" + -i- -i- + New Latin -meter -meter — more at altitude

Note: The word altimeter appears in the word lists of early Latin-English dictionaries, as the 1572 edition of Richard Huloet's dictionary and the 1578 edition of Thomas Cooper's Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae (defined as "an instrument wherwith high things are mette"). These entries all appear to derive from versions of Papias' Latin dictionary Elementarium doctrinae rudimentum, composed in the 11th century, but reedited and expanded many times; the 1485 Venice edition enters "altimeter quo metiuntur altitudines - quoddam instrumentum est" ("altimeter by which heights are measured; it is a certain instrument"). Cf. New Latin scala altimetra, with vernacular equivalents, as Middle French eschelle altimetre, applied to the graduated scale of various instruments for measuring angular distance above the horizon. As a word used in the early 20th century for instruments employing barometric pressure to measure altitude, the word may be a recoinage from Latin altus and -meter.

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of altimeter was in 1904

Dictionary Entries Near altimeter

altilik

altimeter

Altingiaceae

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Altimeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altimeter. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

altimeter

noun
al·​tim·​e·​ter al-ˈtim-ət-ər How to pronounce altimeter (audio) ˈal-tə-ˌmēt-ər How to pronounce altimeter (audio)
: an instrument for measuring altitude
especially : a barometer that registers changes in atmospheric pressure accompanying changes in altitude

More from Merriam-Webster on altimeter

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about altimeter

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