altimeter

noun

al·​tim·​e·​ter al-ˈti-mə-tər How to pronounce altimeter (audio) ˈal-tə-ˌmē-tər How to pronounce altimeter (audio)
: an instrument for measuring altitude
especially : an aneroid barometer designed to register changes in atmospheric pressure accompanying changes in altitude
altimetry noun

Examples of altimeter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The helicopter uses a downward-pointing navigation camera and a laser altimeter to relay directional information to its computer. George Petras, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024 There's also a new Elevation view with altimeter data, and Maps works offline now, too. Samuel Axon and Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 5 June 2023 The two technologies don’t use the same frequencies: 5G use frequencies between 3.7 and 4.0 gigahertz, while radio altimeters use the 4.2-4.4 GHz band. IEEE Spectrum, 29 Dec. 2022 The issue is that the 5G signal can interfere with a specific device called an altimeter, which uses radio waves to give pilots readings on how far a plane is above the ground. Kaitlin Menza, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2023 The last time the processor got a significant boost was the Series 6 in 2020 — and that’s about when Apple introduced a new always-on altimeter, blood oxygen sensors, and the U1 UWB chip. Victoria Song, The Verge, 8 Sep. 2023 Those include a ground-scanning infrared-imaging sensor, an on-board terrain map library for image-matching navigation, a laser-gyroscope built by Northrop-Grumman for inertial tracking, a radar altimeter for terrain-reference navigation, and a 12-channel jam-resistant GPS receiver. Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023 Those tidings come just when the Fed’s taking its eye off the real-interest rate altimeter that’s flashing red. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2023 Several scientists told Russian state media that the vehicle’s DISD-LR radar altimeter wasn’t accurate enough to ensure more than an 80% chance of a successful soft landing. Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'altimeter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Latin altus "high" + -i- -i- + New Latin -meter -meter — more at altitude

Note: The word altimeter appears in the word lists of early Latin-English dictionaries, as the 1572 edition of Richard Huloet's dictionary and the 1578 edition of Thomas Cooper's Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae (defined as "an instrument wherwith high things are mette"). These entries all appear to derive from versions of Papias' Latin dictionary Elementarium doctrinae rudimentum, composed in the 11th century, but reedited and expanded many times; the 1485 Venice edition enters "altimeter quo metiuntur altitudines - quoddam instrumentum est" ("altimeter by which heights are measured; it is a certain instrument"). Cf. New Latin scala altimetra, with vernacular equivalents, as Middle French eschelle altimetre, applied to the graduated scale of various instruments for measuring angular distance above the horizon. As a word used in the early 20th century for instruments employing barometric pressure to measure altitude, the word may be a recoinage from Latin altus and -meter.

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of altimeter was in 1904

Dictionary Entries Near altimeter

Cite this Entry

“Altimeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altimeter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

altimeter

noun
al·​tim·​e·​ter al-ˈtim-ət-ər How to pronounce altimeter (audio) ˈal-tə-ˌmēt-ər How to pronounce altimeter (audio)
: an instrument for measuring altitude
especially : a barometer that registers changes in atmospheric pressure accompanying changes in altitude

More from Merriam-Webster on altimeter

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