instrument panel

[in-struh-muhnt pan-l]

noun

1. Also called instrument board. a panel on which are mounted an array of dials, lights, and gauges that monitor the performance of a machine or device, as an airplane.

2. Automotive.,  dashboard.

instrument panel

noun

1. a panel on which instruments are mounted, as on a car See also dashboard

2. an array of instruments, gauges, etc, mounted to display the condition or performance of a machine or process

Word History and Origins

Origin of instrument panel¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

When the prolonged shaking knocked out power lines, backup generators clicked on to run the plant’s instrument panels and keep critical coolant moving through the reactors.

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But Powers’s knees were jammed under the instrument panel.

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It was the summer of 1965 when a captain and student pilot forgot they had placed unwrapped teacakes above their instrument panels.

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Tesla is recalling more than 2 million U.S. vehicles because some warning lights on the instrument panel are too small.

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“Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash,” the agency said in the notice.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• dashboard