sclerometer

American

[skli-rom-i-ter] / sklɪˈrɒm ɪ tər /

noun

any instrument for determining with precision the degree of hardness of a substance, especially a mineral, as by measuring the pressure necessary to pierce or scratch it.

sclerometer British

/ ˌsklɪərəˈmɛtrɪk, sklɪəˈrɒmɪtə /

noun

an instrument that determines the hardness of a mineral or metal by means of a diamond point

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

sclerometric adjective

Etymology

Origin of sclerometer

First recorded in 1875–80; sclero- + -meter

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.

But it wasn't the story so much as the flavour of the book that was so impressive: an SF narrative so hard you'd need a sclerometer to measure it, but written with a sinuous, fin-de-siècle intensity.

From The Guardian

Associated words: mineralogy, mineralogist, mineralize, mineralization, mineralogize, sclerometer, chondrule, paramorphism, geology. mouth, n.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023