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

How to use stethoscope in a sentence

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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