calibrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).
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to divide or mark with gradations, graduations, or other indexes of degree, quantity, etc., as on a thermometer, measuring cup, or the like.
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to determine the correct range for (an artillery gun, mortar, etc.) by observing where the fired projectile hits.
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to plan or devise (something) carefully so as to have a precise use, application, appeal, etc..
a sales strategy calibrated to rich investors.
verb
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to measure the calibre of (a gun, mortar, etc)
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to mark (the scale of a measuring instrument) so that readings can be made in appropriate units
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to determine the accuracy of (a measuring instrument, etc)
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to determine or check the range and accuracy of (a piece of artillery)
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To check, adjust, or standardize a measuring instrument, usually by comparing it with an accepted model.
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To measure the diameter of the inside of a tube.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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calibraternoun
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calibrationnoun
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calibratornoun
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recalibrateverb (used with or without object)
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uncalibratedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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calibratesimple
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calibratessimple
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have calibratedperfect
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has calibratedperfect
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am calibratingprogressive
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are calibratingprogressive
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is calibratingprogressive
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have been calibratingperfect progressive
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has been calibratingperfect progressive
Past
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calibratedsimple
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had calibratedperfect
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was calibratingprogressive
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were calibratingprogressive
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had been calibratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of calibrate
Explanation
The word calibrate means making precise measurement. For example, you might want to calibrate your bathroom scale now and then to be sure it’s adjusted for exact weight. Or calibrate it to read five pounds light. We won't tell. To find the origin of calibrate, we must look at its root, caliber, which appeared in the late 15th-century Middle French as calibre, meaning "a degree of importance." Linguists trace that word to an Arabic beginning, the word qalib, which referred to a mold for making bullets. That meaning seems to have carried over to our word, the verb calibrate, which first meant to measure the range of a projectile such as a bullet or shell.
Vocabulary lists containing calibrate
The Fault in Our Stars
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"The Leap," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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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.
See Examples For:
I used the mobile app to calibrate the power—25% on Eco mode was just right to start.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
So now we’re able to calibrate between the two eras and mix them, which is exciting.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
These approaches could help calibrate systems more responsibly by testing how often an algorithm wrongly flags people or locations.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
"This is our first opportunity in flight to calibrate Psyche's imager with something bigger than a few pixels, and we'll also make observations with the mission's other science instruments."
From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026
It’s true that every writer must calibrate the degree of specialization in her language against her best guess of the audience’s familiarity with the topic.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The NFL calibrates its schedule-making based on the previous season’s performance, which turned the Patriots’ four-win 2024 campaign into a weak calendar for 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
And Edelstein brilliantly calibrates the pacing of the plot to keep the audience hooked from start to finish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2024
He carefully calibrates his criticisms of Mr Putin.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2024
A poised and appealing performer, Nagle calibrates the story’s tonal shifts capably, while also capturing Jean’s energy and acing the humor.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
Such a number calibrates crudely what humans know.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
This is often an issue with how the device is calibrated, and easily rectified, responds Bakiş.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Roth-conversion strategy has to be calibrated against the children’s expected future tax brackets, not the parents’ current ones, because the children are the ones who will ultimately empty the account.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Using observations from solar system probes, the team calibrated how turbulent plasma affects narrowband radio signals.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
Iran’s missile attack on Israel appeared calibrated to avoid a wider escalation in the conflict, said Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran research program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
In this agonizing fashion I climbed toward a cluster of tents reputed to be perched somewhere on the sheer face above, progressing in increments calibrated in inches.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
“We see very high demand for our compute products, we’re working hard to meet demand and we’re constantly calibrating and assessing what it will do to the total available market in the future,” Feng said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 25, 2026
Ed Yardeni, founder and president of Yardeni Research, suggested the readings indicate how investors are calibrating the economic impact of the Persian Gulf conflict.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
Eileen was always kind of calibrating, “I know you very well, but what are you up to?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
This talent for precisely calibrating the elements that convey status and fashionability is probably possible only in someone with intimate knowledge of social insecurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Warriors were now in place from every world where Lord Asriel’s rebellion had supporters; mechanics and artificers were fueling aircraft, loading weapons, and calibrating sights and measures.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
