spirograph

American

[spahy-ruh-graf, -grahf] / ˈspaɪ rəˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

an instrument for recording respiratory movements.

spirograph British

/ -ˌɡræf, ˈspaɪrəˌɡrɑːf /

noun

med an instrument for recording the movements of breathing

"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

spirographic adjective

Etymology

Origin of spirograph

spiro- ¹ + -graph

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.

The NFL’s account of her report is like a spirograph in which everything circles into a single invisible point.

From Washington Post

"If only life were so simple. It's like a spirograph. A thousand cycles that interact in a big mess."

From Science Magazine

I don't particularly care for the film's moments of laboured symbolism – Saul Bass's spirograph credits for instance, or the celebrated nightmare sequence.

From The Guardian

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