heliostat

American

[hee-lee-uh-stat] / ˈhi li əˌstæt /

noun

an instrument consisting of a mirror moved by clockwork, for reflecting the sun's rays in a fixed direction.

heliostat British

/ ˈhiːlɪəʊˌstæt /

noun

an astronomical instrument used to reflect the light of the sun in a constant direction

"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

Other Word Forms

heliostatic adjective

Etymology

Origin of heliostat

From the New Latin word heliostata, dating back to 1740–50. See helio-, -stat

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.

I’d read that giant solar arrays were positioned throughout the city, along with two heliostat power plants on its outskirts.

From Literature

Heliostat machines on the roof of the Lowline Lab.

From The Verge

In 2011, Google announced that it halted its own heliostat project after researchers could not design an inexpensive model.

From US News

Until now, building heliostat plants has been prohibitively expensive.

From US News

An engineer at Stellenbosch University's Helio100 project says the team has designed a cost-effective heliostat that harnesses solar power to generate electricity.

From US News

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