aneroid barometer

American  

noun

1. a device for measuring atmospheric pressure, often specially calibrated for use as an altimeter, consisting of a box or chamber partially exhausted of air, having an elastic top and a pointer to indicate the degree of compression of the top caused by the external air.

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aneroid barometer British  

noun

1. a device for measuring atmospheric pressure without the use of fluids. It consists of a partially evacuated metal chamber, the thin corrugated lid of which is displaced by variations in the external air pressure. This displacement is magnified by levers and made to operate a pointer

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aneroid barometer Scientific  

/ ăn′ə-roid′ /

1. A barometer consisting of a thin elastic disk covering a chamber that contains a partial vacuum. High atmospheric pressure pushes against the disk and causes it to bulge inward, while low pressure does not push as hard, allowing the disk to bulge outward. An aneroid barometer is smaller and more portable than a mercury barometer and, when used with a barograph, can record up to a week's worth of data. Aneroid barometers are used extensively in aviation as part of altimeters.

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Etymology

Origin of aneroid barometer

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aneroid barometer

Trekking to a mountain top, he used an aneroid barometer to help him calculate its height.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2013

She sat down at the table as if her knees had given way, and her strong white hand fell slackly on Philippa's purchase, the old aneroid barometer, and rested there.

From In Mr. Knox's Country by Ross, Martin

I think that a rough altitude gauge could be calculated from the time rice takes to boil—at least as reliable as an aneroid barometer.

From The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley) A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America by Stuck, Hudson

This practice is retained even in the use of the aneroid barometer, which contains no mercurial column.

From The Mentor: The Weather Serial Number 110; 1 July, 1916 by Talman, Charles Fitzhugh

They were made by Meyer most ingeniously of a lever balance taken from an aneroid barometer and connected with a three-cornered rule; the weights used were shot from their shot-gun ammunition.

From True Tales of Arctic Heroism in the New World by Greely, Adolphus W.