instrument panel
Americannoun
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Also called instrument board. a panel on which are mounted an array of dials, lights, and gauges that monitor the performance of a machine or device, as an airplane.
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Automotive. dashboard.
noun
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a panel on which instruments are mounted, as on a car See also dashboard
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an array of instruments, gauges, etc, mounted to display the condition or performance of a machine or process
Etymology
Origin of instrument panel
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The first sign of it was on page 23 of the brochure for the 1989 Ford Thunderbird, which revealed a subtle feature on the car’s instrument panel: a white arrow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 3, 2026
Tesla is recalling more than 2 million U.S. vehicles because some warning lights on the instrument panel are too small.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2024
He parked amid a cluster of American warplanes, tore a framed photograph of Kim Il-sung from his instrument panel, jumped out of his cockpit and threw the picture to the ground.
From New York Times • Jan. 5, 2023
I was on the Bainbridge commuter boat and the genie lamp icon started flashing nervously on my instrument panel.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 23, 2022
Over her shoulder, through the opening in the bulkhead, her friend watched the faintly illuminated dial on the instrument panel that showed the altitude—they weren’t losing much height.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
