stethoscope

American  

[steth-uh-skohp] / ˈstɛθ əˌskoʊp /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

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

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stethoscope British  

/ ˈstɛθəˌskəʊp, stɛˈθɒskəpɪ, ˌstɛθəˈskɒpɪk /

noun

1. 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

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

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stethoscope Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• stethoscoped adjective
• stethoscopic adjective
• stethoscopist noun
• stethoscopy noun
• unstethoscoped adjective

Etymology

Origin of stethoscope

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

Example Sentences

He put on the white coat and stethoscope for more than 300 episodes of that daytime drama from 1973 to 1976.

From Los Angeles Times

Nurse Finnegan has a stethoscope and an electronic blood pressure thing in her hand, but she just sits down and places the back of her hand against my cheek, which feels very nurse-y and comforting.

From Literature

The viola sounds like a heartbeat heard through a stethoscope.

From Los Angeles Times

But Meals put his stethoscope to the heartbeat of Los Angeles and found a thousand things to cheer.

From Los Angeles Times

The original stethoscope, invented in 1816, allows doctors to listen to the internal sounds of a patient's body.

From BBC