barometer

American  

[buh-rom-i-ter] / bəˈrɒm ɪ tər /

noun

• barometers
  plural

1. Meteorology. any instrument that measures atmospheric pressure.

2. anything that indicates changes.

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barometer British  

/ ˌbærəˈmɛtrɪk, bəˈrɒmɪtə /

noun

1. an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure, usually to determine altitude or weather changes

2. anything that shows change or impending change

   the barometer of social change

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barometer Scientific  

/ bə-rŏm′ĭ-tər /

1. An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. Barometers are used in determining height above sea level and in forecasting the weather. The two primary types of barometers are the aneroid and the mercury barometer.

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barometer Cultural  

1. An instrument that measures atmospheric pressure.

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Discover More

In general, when the barometer falls in response to a drop in pressure, bad weather is approaching; when the barometer rises because of an increase in pressure, good weather will follow.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• barometry
  noun
• barometric
  adjective
• barometrical
  adjective
• barometrically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• barometers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of barometer

First recorded in 1655–65; baro- + -meter

Explanation

A barometer is a device that measures atmospheric pressure. Barometers help meteorologists figure out what the weather is going to be like. Sure, it's technically a weather man's tool — but you can use barometer more generally to describe anything that can be used to forecast or measure something else. The stock market is a barometer for economic health. Your grades are a barometer of how you're doing in school. For the President, a national poll is a barometer of political success. These kinds of barometers tell which way the wind is blowing — just not literally.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barometer barometers

Strength itself is also a remarkably good barometer of health.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

"The ultimate barometer of success for us: are our customers happy enough with the service that they want to return again next year? And it seems that they are."

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

And it’s an interesting barometer of where we are as a country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Research group GfK said its consumer-confidence barometer, published Friday with the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, rose 6 points to minus 17 in July—the largest increase in sentiment since November 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Pascal’s Puy-de-Dôme experiment explained the height of the mercury in a barometer by showing that it was directly related to the weight of the air.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Both are considered barometers for the economy’s health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Breach described High Streets as one of the most "visible barometers" of how a local economy is faring, saying where High Streets are performing badly voters expect intervention which requires more than cosmetic change.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

And special elections, while useful metrics, are far from perfect barometers of public opinion.

From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026

Privately produced reports suggest little change in prices during the shutdown, but they are not as comprehensive as the government’s inflation barometers — chiefly, the consumer-price index and personal-consumption expenditures index.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 15, 2025

Telescopes and microscopes depended on pre-existing techniques for making lenses, and thermometers and barometers depended on pre-existing techniques for blowing glass.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton