stethoscope

[ steth-uh-skohp ]

/ ˈstɛθ əˌskoʊp /

Save This Word!

noun Medicine/Medical.

an instrument used in auscultation to convey sounds in the chest or other parts of the body to the ear of the examiner.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of stethoscope

First recorded in 1810–20; stetho- + -scope

OTHER WORDS FROM stethoscope

steth·o·scoped, adjectiveste·thos·co·pist

[ste-thos-kuh-pist], /stɛˈθɒs kə pɪst/, nounste·thos·co·py

[ste-thos-kuh-pee, steth-uh-skoh-], /stɛˈθɒs kə pi, ˈstɛθ əˌskoʊ-/, nounun·steth·o·scoped, adjective

Words nearby stethoscope

stethalgia, Ste.-Thérèse, stetho-, stethogoniometer, stethometer, stethoscope, stethoscopic, stethospasm, St.-Étienne, Stetson, Stettin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use stethoscope in a sentence

He lost his stethoscope somewhere in the house — a familiar weight that sat on his neck for two decades.
Burned out by the pandemic, 3 in 10 health-care workers consider leaving the profession|William Wan|April 22, 2021|Washington Post
Now imagine digitally connected devices like electronic stethoscopes and telemetry-capable electrocardiographs that could transmit data on a patient’s heartbeat, respiration, and blood-oxygen levels.
The doctor will Zoom you now|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The stethoscope might track it by the half-minute, but the provider might want that information by the minute.
The doctor will Zoom you now|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Right now there are no standards for cataloguing something as simple as a heartbeat recorded via a digital stethoscope.
The doctor will Zoom you now|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review

Instead of carrying a stethoscope, though, he carried a gun.
Four Sons, One War: All Dead|Eugene Robinson|September 25, 2020|Ozy
An Army doctor stepped over with a stethoscope and chastened the firing squad when he determined that the heart was still beating.
The Last American Soldier Executed for Desertion|Michael Daly|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A smiling, wise-looking Black man with a stethoscope around his neck stared out from the cover.
Ben Carson Was a Role Model for Black Teens Until He Sold Out to the Right|Joshua DuBois|March 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A medic standing close to her wore both a stethoscope and a gas mask around her neck—she seemed to be in shock.
The Morning After Egypt’s Rabaa Massacre|Sophia Jones|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On a table in front of her sat a stethoscope, a notepad and a small flashlight.
Winter, Food Shortages, Descend on Syria’s Refugees|Mike Giglio|January 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The puffs can be clearly heard with a stethoscope over the region of the stomach, and nowhere else.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Placing a stethoscope over the region of the heart, he listened for a few seconds.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
At his right hand was a small table, on which stood a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope.
The Double Four|E. Phillips Oppenheim
Chief Pasteur walked over to where Mellon lay and took his stethoscope out of his little black bag.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
He could still hear Doc's words whistling through his teeth and feel the coldness of the stethoscope on his chest.
The Memory of Mars|Raymond F. Jones

British Dictionary definitions for stethoscope

stethoscope

/ (ˈstɛθəˌskəʊp) /

noun

med an instrument for listening to the sounds made within the body, typically consisting of a hollow disc that transmits the sound through hollow tubes to earpieces

Also called: obstetric stethoscope a narrow cylinder expanded at both ends to recieve and transmit fetal sounds

Derived forms of stethoscope

stethoscopic (ˌstɛθəˈskɒpɪk), adjectivestethoscopy (stɛˈθɒskəpɪ), noun

Word Origin for stethoscope

C19: from French, from Greek stēthos breast + -scope

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

Medical definitions for stethoscope

stethoscope

[ stĕth′ə-skōp′ ]

Any of various instruments used for listening to sounds produced within the body.

Other words from stethoscope

steth′o•scop′ic (-skŏp′ĭk) adj.ste•thos′co•py (stĕ-thŏs′kə-pē) n.

Cultural definitions for stethoscope

stethoscope

[ (steth-uh-skohp) ]

An instrument used in listening to internal body sounds. Most familiarly, physicians and nurses use it to listen to heart sounds.