stethoscope

[ steth-uh-skohp ]

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.

stethoscope

/ ˈstɛθəˌskəʊp; ˌstɛθəˈskɒpɪk; stɛˈθɒskəpɪ /

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 calledobstetric stethoscope a narrow cylinder expanded at both ends to recieve and transmit fetal sounds

stethoscope

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

Derived Forms

• stethoscopic, adjective
• stethoscopy, noun

Other Words From

• stetho·scoped adjective
• ste·thos·co·pist [ste-, thos, -k, uh, -pist], noun
• ste·thos·co·py [ste-, thos, -k, uh, -pee, steth, -, uh, -skoh-], noun
• un·stetho·scoped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stethoscope¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stethoscope¹

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

Example Sentences

He lost his stethoscope somewhere in the house — a familiar weight that sat on his neck for two decades.

From Washington Post

Right now there are no standards for cataloguing something as simple as a heartbeat recorded via a digital stethoscope.

From MIT Technology Review

The stethoscope might track it by the half-­minute, but the provider might want that information by the minute.

From 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.

From MIT Technology Review

Instead of carrying a stethoscope, though, he carried a gun.

From Ozy

An Army doctor stepped over with a stethoscope and chastened the firing squad when he determined that the heart was still beating.

From The Daily Beast

A smiling, wise-looking Black man with a stethoscope around his neck stared out from the cover.

From The 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.

From The Daily Beast

On a table in front of her sat a stethoscope, a notepad and a small flashlight.

From The Daily Beast

The puffs can be clearly heard with a stethoscope over the region of the stomach, and nowhere else.

From Project Gutenberg

Placing a stethoscope over the region of the heart, he listened for a few seconds.

From Project Gutenberg

At his right hand was a small table, on which stood a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope.

From Project Gutenberg

Chief Pasteur walked over to where Mellon lay and took his stethoscope out of his little black bag.

From Project Gutenberg

He could still hear Doc's words whistling through his teeth and feel the coldness of the stethoscope on his chest.

From Project Gutenberg