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

• tachometry
  noun
• tachometric
  adjective
• tachometrically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of tachometer

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tachometer

Watch as the graphically animated tachometer needle fans through a couple of full-power upshifts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

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

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

Sport: tachometer front and center with your digital speed slightly to the upper right.

From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2022

The effective head-up display will show, depending on operator selection, speed, speed limit, tachometer, compass and other things.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2016

It had been suggested that the revolutions in Africa occurred so often that only a tachometer could keep up with them.

From Hail to the Chief by Schoenherr, John