oscilloscope

[ uh-sil-uh-skohp ]

/ əˈsɪl əˌskoʊp /

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noun Electricity.

a device that gives a visual graph of amplitude versus time of a measured signal, as voltage or current.

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Origin of oscilloscope

First recorded in 1905–10; oscill(ate) + -o- + -scope

OTHER WORDS FROM oscilloscope

os·cil·lo·scop·ic

[uh-sil-uh-skop-ik], /əˌsɪl əˈskɒp ɪk/, adjectiveos·cil·lo·scop·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby oscilloscope

oscillator, oscillatory, oscillogram, oscillograph, oscillometer, oscilloscope, oscine, oscitancy, oscitant, Osco-Umbrian, osculant

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

How to use oscilloscope in a sentence

But then, it does raise the question: What, worth saying, isn't already covered by an oscilloscope in the midst of a song?
The Absurdist Genius of Ernie Kovacs|Andy Battaglia|April 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The oscilloscope flickered as he readjusted, a new trace appeared.
Sentiment, Inc.|Poul William Anderson
Fraser sat watching the greenish trace on the huge oscilloscope screen.
Sentiment, Inc.|Poul William Anderson
Later messages had been picked up by radio telescope and converted to appear as symbols on the oscilloscope screen.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X|Victor Appleton

Rick indicated a circle of white plastic, scaled like the face of the oscilloscope.
The Golden Skull|John Blaine
He turned it slightly then began watching the oscilloscope closely.
All In The Mind|Gene L. Henderson

British Dictionary definitions for oscilloscope

oscilloscope

/ (ɒˈsɪləˌskəʊp) /

noun

an instrument for producing a representation of a quantity that rapidly changes with time on the screen of a cathode-ray tube. The changes are converted into electric signals, which are applied to plates in the cathode-ray tube. Changes in the magnitude of the potential across the plates deflect the electron beam and thus produce a trace on the screen

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

Scientific definitions for oscilloscope

oscilloscope

[ ə-sĭl′ə-skōp′ ]

An electronic instrument used to observe and measure changing electrical signals. The amplitude of the signal as it varies with time is displayed graphically on a screen as a line stretching from left to right, with displacements up and down indicating the amplitude of the signal. Oscilloscopes are used to diagnose problems in electronic signal-processing devises, such as computers or stereos, and to monitor electrical activity in the body, such as that of heartbeats.