calibrate

[ kal-uh-breyt ]

/ ˈkæl əˌbreɪt /

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See synonyms for: calibrate / calibrated / calibrating / calibration on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), cal·i·brat·ed, cal·i·brat·ing.

to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).

to divide or mark with gradations, graduations, or other indexes of degree, quantity, etc., as on a thermometer, measuring cup, or the like.

to determine the correct range for (an artillery gun, mortar, etc.) by observing where the fired projectile hits.

to plan or devise (something) carefully so as to have a precise use, application, appeal, etc.: a sales strategy calibrated to rich investors.

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Origin of calibrate

First recorded in 1860–65; calib(e)r + -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM calibrate

cal·i·bra·tion

[kal-uh-brey-shuhn], /ˌkæl əˈbreɪ ʃən/, nouncal·i·bra·tor, cal·i·brat·er, nounre·cal·i·brate, verb (used with or without object), re·cal·i·brat·ed, re·cal·i·brat·ing.un·cal·i·brat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use calibrate in a sentence

Mission control will now spend several weeks testing and calibrating the instruments before the rover begins to explore Jezero in earnest this summer.
This is the first image taken by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Now the hunt for life begins.|Neel Patel|February 18, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Culture tinkers with and calibrates the machinery of our minds.
Martin Luther Rewired Your Brain - Issue 96: Rewired|Joseph Henrich|February 17, 2021|Nautilus
Because if you put your mind on a finish line, and the finish line is going to happen within two months, you’re going to calibrate for that final sprint.
The Coach Who Led the U.S. Math Team Back to the Top|Max G. Levy|February 16, 2021|Quanta Magazine
The light emitted enters the eyes and stimulates the retina, activating the hippocampus and calibrating the body’s clock to daytime.
Can a happy lamp help cure your winter blues?|Erin Fennessy|January 25, 2021|Popular-Science

Hope also requires that we learn to use this data to effectively calibrate progress—no matter how small.
A psychologist explains how hope can make a difference in impossible times|Jacqueline S. Mattis/The Conversation|January 11, 2021|Popular-Science
The former is an exquisitely calibrated product of American liberalism, ever attentive to such notions as “inclusiveness.”
Mr. Politically Correct Obama, Meet Your Opposite, India’s Mr. Modi|Tunku Varadarajan|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We have basically over-calibrated in our reaction to germs—our aversion to them has created a new vulnerability.
Following Tuberculosis From Death Sentence to Cure|Tessa Miller|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Aronofsky's extrapolations are cleverly calibrated to "answer" all the questions left unanswered in the original story.
‘Noah’ Review: An Ambitious, Flawed Biblical Tale That You Have to See|Andrew Romano|March 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And what do you get when monetary growth is not calibrated to underlying growth in the real economy?
Diablo 3 Director Regrets Building an In-Game Market|Megan McArdle|March 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was a finely calibrated performance with great attention to detail.
‘Argo,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ ‘Lincoln’: Who Will Win On Oscar Night?|Ramin Setoodeh, Marlow Stern|February 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His eyes were still on the needles that kept creeping higher and higher along the calibrated periphery of the meters.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
A small aluminium sphere was arranged to blow out at the end of a light cord exerting tension on a calibrated spring.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
Inside, her occupants grimaced helplessly as they watched various instruments guide tiny pointers across calibrated faces.
Tight Squeeze|Dean Charles Ing
A thermometer should not be calibrated until some weeks after making, as the glass bulb tends to contract.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing|Bernard D. Bolas
On Tuesday morning the weather was too thick to permit of the ships being swung and her compasses calibrated.
Hours of Exercise in the Alps|John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for calibrate

calibrate

/ (ˈkælɪˌbreɪt) /

verb (tr)

to measure the calibre of (a gun, mortar, etc)

to mark (the scale of a measuring instrument) so that readings can be made in appropriate units

to determine the accuracy of (a measuring instrument, etc)

to determine or check the range and accuracy of (a piece of artillery)

Derived forms of calibrate

calibration, nouncalibrator or calibrater, noun

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