Pitot tube

American  

[pee-toh, pee-toh] / ˈpi toʊ, piˈtoʊ /

noun

1. (often lowercase) an instrument for measuring fluid velocity, consisting of a narrow tube, one end of which is open and faces upstream, the other end being connected to a manometer.

---

Pitot tube British  

/ ˈpiːtəʊ /

noun

1. a small tube placed in a fluid with its open end upstream and the other end connected to a manometer. It measures the total pressure of the fluid

2. short for Pitot-static tube, esp one fitted to an aircraft

---

Etymology

Origin of Pitot tube

1880–85; named after Henri Pitot (1695–1771), French physicist, who invented it

Example Sentences

The aircraft, an Airbus A330 wide-body, had been en route from Brazil to Paris when the jet’s Pitot tube, which is used to determine airspeed, iced over.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

I joined her under the left wing, where she gingerly patted the Pitot tube, a bent finger-shaped object that determines airspeed by measuring air pressure through a pinprick hole.

From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2022