pedometer
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pedometer
1723; < French pédomètre, equivalent to péd- (learned use of Latin ped- foot (stem of pēs ); see pedi-) + -omètre ( see -o-, -meter)
Explanation
Want to keep track of how far you walk each day? You should get a pedometer, a portable device that measures every step you take. Break the word pedometer down into its roots and you get the Latin ped, or "foot," and the Greek metron, "a measure." That's exactly what a pedometer does: it measures each step your feet take. Most pedometers are small enough to carry with you while you walk, jog, or skip through your day, and they use the motion of your hand or hip to estimate how many steps you've taken.
Vocabulary lists containing pedometer
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.
In the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a brand of pedometer was launched called the manpo-kei, which translates as "10,000-step meter".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
The idea of walking 10,000 steps a day gained popularity in Japan in the 1960s, when a company introduced a pedometer called the Manpo-kei — a name that translates to “10,000 step meter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025
The concept, according to Harvard Medical School researcher I-Min Lee, originated in 1965 in Japan with a pedometer designed to count—you guessed it—10,000 steps.
From Slate ● Jan. 1, 2023
For a few years, my company held in a weight loss and exercise challenge — who could lose the most weight, rack up the most pedometer steps or log the most exercise minutes.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2021
She saw him give their parents a quick thumbs-up, and then he checked his pedometer.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
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.
