anemometer
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: wind gauge. an instrument for recording the speed and often the direction of winds
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any instrument that measures the rate of movement of a fluid
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An instrument that measures the speed of the wind or of another flowing fluid. The most basic type of anemometer consists of a series of cups mounted at the end of arms that rotate in the wind. The speed with which the cups rotate indicates the wind speed. In this form, the anemometer also indicates the direction of the wind.
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◆ Other anemometers include the pressure-tube anemometer, which uses the pressure generated by the wind to measure its speed, and the hot-wire anemometer, which uses the rate at which heat from a hot wire is transferred to the surrounding air to measure wind speed.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anemometer
Vocabulary lists containing anemometer
Weather and Climate - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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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.
Dr Rok Nežič, who is the tours and outreach officer at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, said there were ways to measure wind speed before the four cup anemometer, "but they weren't very accurate".
From BBC • Jul. 13, 2025
A weather station with a spinning anemometer sits atop the shack.
From Washington Times • Nov. 19, 2018
And while other competing anemometer designs existed, involving liquids and tubes, the four-cup design became standard in American mete- orology in the nineteenth century, remaining remarkably stable.
From Time • Aug. 4, 2015
An anemometer, an instrument for measuring wind speed and direction, is mounted on top of the car, as is a GPS device.
From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2013
She asked for a barometer and an anemometer and a rain gauge for Christmas, and hung them outside her bedroom window.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
