tachometer

American  

[ta-kom-i-ter, tuh-] / tæˈkɒm ɪ tər, tə- /

noun

1. any of various instruments for measuring or indicating velocity or speed, as of a machine, a river, or the blood.

2. an instrument measuring revolutions per minute, as of an engine.

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tachometer British  

/ ˌtækəˈmɛtrɪk, tæˈkɒmɪtə /

noun

1. any device for measuring speed, esp the rate of revolution of a shaft. Tachometers (rev counters) are often fitted to cars to indicate the number of revolutions per minute of the engine

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Other Word Forms

• tachometric adjective
• tachometrically adverb
• tachometry noun

Etymology

Origin of tachometer

First recorded in 1800–10; tacho- + -meter

Example Sentences

Damaged and beyond use was the tachometer, which was to have registered the vessel’s speed of descent.

From New York Times

Enhanced: tachometer even further to the left, speedometer even further to the right, and a wide customizable center.

From The Verge

This genre-defying book of compressed prose, poetry and image is the product of a mind — and heart — pushing the artistic tachometer to the red line.

From Washington Post

Set to Sport mode, the transmission takes an aggressive set, holding on to gears high up the tachometer then downshifting early to provide engine braking as you slow down.

From Fox News

The red line — the 7,000-rpm mark on a race car’s tachometer — is the central motif in the new hit movie “Ford v Ferrari.”

From Los Angeles Times