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
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
Their hopes buoyed, scientists at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory planned a minor mid-course correction and ordered Surveyor's three small vernier engines to fire briefly.
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
If a correction should be found necessary, it is better to ease the pressure of the thumb-screw over the vernier before making such correction, tightening it again afterwards.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
"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
Five minutes into the second half, Vernier was sent to the sidelines for a high tackle on Eve Higgins with the yellow card shown on the field, then upgraded to a 20-minute red.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025
“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
A letter from the only white man, the Protestant minister Vernier, who knew him, leaves no doubt on the subject of the cause of Gauguin's death.
From Paul Gauguin, His Life and Art by Fletcher, John Gould
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.
