oscilloscope

American  

[uh-sil-uh-skohp] / əˈsɪl əˌskoʊp /

noun

Electricity.

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

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oscilloscope British  

/ ɒˈsɪləˌskəʊp /

noun

1. 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

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oscilloscope Scientific  

/ ə-sĭl′ə-skōp′ /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• oscilloscopic
  adjective
• oscilloscopically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of oscilloscope

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

Example Sentences

It was played on an oscilloscope, an instrument that measures and displays electrical signals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

“I switched to mathematics when I tried unsuccessfully for 45 minutes to get an oscilloscope to show a sine wave.”

From New York Times • May 24, 2023

Because the distance of a few microns meant the difference between signal and noise, he had to peer intently into an oscilloscope as he placed the probe.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 19, 2018

We went up to his attic laboratory, where my eyes wandered around to see a desk, some bookcases, a microscope, a big magnifying glass, some welding guns, and an oscilloscope.

From Slate • Jun. 29, 2018

Then he picks up two probes hooked onto wires coming from the front of the oscilloscope, a red one and a black one.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements