Also vernier scale a small, movable, graduated scale running parallel to the fixed graduated scale of a sextant, theodolite, barometer, etc., and used for measuring a fractional part of one of the divisions of the fixed scale.
Machinery. an auxiliary device for giving a piece of apparatus a higher adjustment accuracy.
a small movable scale running parallel to the main graduated scale in certain measuring instruments, such as theodolites, used to obtain a fractional reading of one of the divisions on the main scale
an auxiliary device for making a fine adjustment to an instrument, usually by means of a fine screw thread
(modifier) relating to or fitted with a vernier
a vernier scale
a vernier barometer
First recorded in 1760–70; named after P. Vernier
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Hwasong-14 had only one nozzle, and it used four vernier engines to steer the missile.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2017
On a signal from earth it fired its three vernier engines, rose ten feet from the surface and then landed again, eight feet from its original site.
From Time Magazine Archive
First they fired Surveyor's vernier engines for 33 seconds to consume more fuel and reduce the craft's landing weight.
From Time Magazine Archive
The final push came from eight small vernier rockets fired by radio command from Cape Canaveral to adjust the speed.
From Time Magazine Archive
When the line next to the 0 line on the vernier coincides with the line to the left of the inch line on the bar, the instrument is set to 11⁄1000 inches.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
"In creating this piece, there were at least 20,000 back-and-forth exchanges between the algorithms and the creative team," said Gauthier Vernier of Obvious.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
France had the final say when prop Rose Bernadou crashed over after Gabrielle Vernier broke the line.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2023
“We are so happy to play a semifinal next week,” France captain Gabrielle Vernier said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2022
“We're far away from people being in a mode where they're saying this is a distressed scenario,” said Michel Vernier, head of fixed income strategy at Barclays Private Bank.
From Reuters ● Oct. 12, 2022
If the Vernier scale is moved to the right so that the graduations marked “1” shall coincide, it will have moved one-tenth of a division on the scale or one-hundredth of an inch.
From Aviation Engines Design?Construction?Operation and Repair by Victor Wilfred Pag?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
