oscilloscope

[ uh-sil-uh-skohp ]

/ əˈsɪl əˌskoʊp /

noun Electricity.

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

Nearby words

oscillogram, oscillograph, oscillometer, oscillometry, oscillopsia, oscilloscope, oscine, oscitancy, oscitant, oscitation, osco-umbrian

Origin of oscilloscope

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

Related formsos·cil·lo·scop·ic

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oscilloscope

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
Next, of course, an oscilloscope to check the pulse as it was beamed out.
Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung|Victor Appleton
He sat in a dimly-lighted room, facing three oscilloscope screens.
Pushbutton War|Joseph P. Martino
David MacHeath watched a blue line wriggle its way erratically across the face of an oscilloscope.
Psichopath|Gordon Randall Garrett

The oscilloscope blurred until, by great effort, he brought it into focus again.
All In The Mind|Gene L. Henderson
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

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

Word Origin and History for oscilloscope

oscilloscope

"instrument for visually recording an electrical wave," 1915, a hybrid formed from Latin oscillare "to swing" (see oscillation) + -scope.

Medicine definitions for oscilloscope

oscilloscope

[ ə-sĭl′ə-skōp′ ]

n.

An electronic instrument that produces an instantaneous trace on the screen that corresponds to oscillations of voltage and current.

Related formsos•cil′lo•scop′ic (-skŏp′ĭk) adj.

Science 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.