spirit level

noun Surveying.

a device for determining true horizontal or vertical directions by the centering of a bubble in a slightly curved glass tube or tubes filled with alcohol or ether.

Origin of spirit level

First recorded in 1760–70

Also called level.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spirit level

Historical Examples of spirit level

Another term for spirit-level, used for astronomical instruments.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
A few trials with a spirit-level will cure any man of his conceit on this subject.
Farm drainage
Henry Flagg French
There is a sort of spirit-level in the ear, giving us our sense of balance.
The Natural Philosophy of Love
Remy de Gourmont
The line should, however, be set true as indicated by a spirit-level.
Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II
Joshua Rose
Then carefully level the surface by means of a spirit-level.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for spirit level

spirit level

noun

a device for setting horizontal surfaces, consisting of an accurate block of material in which a sealed slightly curved tube partially filled with liquid is set so that the air bubble rests between two marks on the tube when the block is horizontal

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