stethoscope

[ steth-uh-skohp ]

/ ˈstɛθ əˌskoʊp /

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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.

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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

stertorous, stet, Ste.-Thérèse, stetho-, stethometer, stethoscope, stethoscopic, St.-Étienne, Stetson, Stettin, Stettinius

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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
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
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
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

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

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.