pedometer

American  

[puh-dom-i-ter] / pəˈdɒm ɪ tər /

noun

1. an instrument worn by a walker or runner for recording the number of steps taken, thereby showing approximately the distance traveled.

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pedometer British  

/ pɪˈdɒmɪtə /

noun

1. a device containing a pivoted weight that records the number of steps taken in walking and hence the distance travelled

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Other Word Forms

• pedometrical adjective
• pedometrically adverb
• pedometrist noun

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.

Example Sentences

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

When a Japanese company invented the first pedometer in the 1960s, they called it the “10,000-step meter” because the Japanese character for 10,000 looks like a person walking.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 25, 2023

Like the world’s most active pedometer, the pin shows the U.S. national debt in blocky orange numbers, which stood at $31,479,587,574,033 when the photo was taken.

From Slate • Jun. 3, 2023

She saw him give their parents a quick thumbs-up, and then he checked his pedometer.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead