Doppler radar

American

noun

Electronics.

a radar tracking system that determines the velocity of a moving object by measuring the Doppler shift of the frequency of a radar signal reflected by the object.

Doppler radar Scientific

Radar that uses the Doppler effect to measure velocity.

Etymology

Origin of Doppler radar

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

A system called Trackman uses in-stadium, two-directional Doppler radar and synchronized high-speed cameras to quantify everything from a ball’s rotation and velocity to location.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Their Earthcare satellite used a Doppler radar to capture the view.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2024

It also carries the first space-based Doppler radar to track the motions of clouds and probe how they fuel storms.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 5, 2024

Next door at the Rainbow Bridge Market, cashier Amy Allen, 42, said she wondered whether the earthquake was caused by a Doppler radar tower on top of a mountain east of town.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2023

This is what people did in the old days before satellite imagery and Doppler radar.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023