clinometer

American  

[klahy-nom-i-ter, kli-] / klaɪˈnɒm ɪ tər, klɪ- /

noun

1. an instrument for determining angles of inclination or slope.

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clinometer British  

/ ˌklaɪnəˈmɛtrɪk, klaɪˈnɒmɪtə /

noun

1. an instrument used in surveying for measuring an angle of inclination

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Other Word Forms

• clinometric adjective
• clinometry noun

Etymology

Origin of clinometer

First recorded in 1805–15; clino- + -meter

Example Sentences

Tree measurements are collected using such forestry tools as a low-tech Biltmore stick, a clinometer or, most accurate of all, a laser hypsometer.

From Washington Times • Aug. 5, 2016

Measurement of geological features is done with a special compass that has a built-in clinometer, which is a device for measuring vertical angles.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

He used a clinometer, a device that allowed him to determine the height by triangulating, using the tree, his own position and the angle of the distance between them.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2013

Records are sketchy on exactly when the height-measuring clinometer was invented.

From Washington Post • Nov. 28, 2011

Between the col and the summit we met some very steep snow slopes on the South side: we carried no clinometer and I shall not venture to estimate their angles of inclination.

From Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 by Howard-Bury, Charles Kenneth