otoscope
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of otoscope
Explanation
If you've ever had even a basic checkup at the doctor, you've had an otoscope stuck in your ear — it's what your doctor uses to examine the inside of your ear. Being examined with an otoscope is completely painless, but it can feel a little strange. This instrument has a magnifying lens and a small light that allows your doctor to see parts of your ear canal that would otherwise be hidden. Occasionally, this tool is also called an auriscope. Otoscope has Greek roots, oto from ous, "ear," and scope, from skopein, "to look at."
Vocabulary lists containing otoscope
Power Suffix: -scope
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: scope
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-scope
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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.
Standard tools like an otoscope, a device used to inspect the ear canal, are often hard to come by.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2022
Every doctor had a bottle of alcohol each, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a stethoscope and an otoscope — that’s it.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2018
Oto, the modern otoscope using a smartphone camera, automatically produces an image of the patient’s ear, making it easy to detect infection.
From Forbes ● Jul. 1, 2014
"Oww, that hurts!" she says, wincing as he inserts an otoscope into each nostril.
From Time Magazine Archive
Prof. Leon Le Fort has recently presented to the Academy of Medicine, in the name of Dr. Rattel, a new otoscope, which we illustrate herewith.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 488, May 9, 1885 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
