altimeter

[ al-tim-i-ter, al-tuh-mee-ter ]
/ ælˈtɪm ɪ tər, ˈæl təˌmi tər /

noun

a sensitive aneroid barometer that is graduated and calibrated, used chiefly in aircraft for finding distance above sea level, terrain, or some other reference point by a comparison of air pressures.
any device used for the same purpose that operates by some other means, as by radio waves.

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Origin of altimeter

First recorded in 1820–30; alti- + -meter

Words nearby altimeter

although, althusser, alti-, altigraph, altiloquent, altimeter, altimetry, altiplano, altissimo, altitude, altitude chamber
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for altimeter

British Dictionary definitions for altimeter

altimeter
/ (ælˈtɪmɪtə, ˈæltɪˌmiːtə) /

noun

an instrument that indicates height above sea level, esp one based on an aneroid barometer and fitted to an aircraft
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for altimeter

altimeter
[ ăl-tĭm′ĭ-tər ]

An instrument that measures and indicates the height above sea level at which an object, such as an airplane, is located.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.