chronometer

[ kruh-nom-i-ter ]
See synonyms for: chronometerchronometricalchronometric on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a timepiece or timing device with a special mechanism for ensuring and adjusting its accuracy, for use in determining longitude at sea or for any purpose where very exact measurement of time is required.

  2. any timepiece, especially a wristwatch, designed for the highest accuracy.

Origin of chronometer

1
First recorded in 1705–15; chrono- + -meter

Other words from chronometer

  • chron·o·met·ric [kron-uh-me-trik], /ˌkrɒn əˈmɛ trɪk/, chron·o·met·ri·cal, adjective
  • chron·o·met·ri·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby chronometer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chronometer in a sentence

  • In about two hours afterward the watches and chronometer recommenced going, and the compasses resumed their position.

  • But the terrible question was, how near right is the chronometer?

    Captains of Industry | James Parton
  • He looked at the chronometer on the wall—he had slept twelve hours!

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • The sweep hand on the chronometer made its rounds several times before he answered.

    Unwise Child | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • In the words of a reporter, the place is equally capable of turning out a 'chronometer or a Cunard steamer.'

British Dictionary definitions for chronometer

chronometer

/ (krəˈnɒmɪtə) /


noun
  1. a timepiece designed to be accurate in all conditions of temperature, pressure, etc, used esp at sea

Derived forms of chronometer

  • chronometric (ˌkrɒnəˈmɛtrɪk) or chronometrical, adjective
  • chronometrically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for chronometer

chronometer

[ krə-nŏmĭ-tər ]


  1. An extremely accurate clock or other timepiece. Chronometers are used in scientific experiments, navigation, and astronomical observations. It was the invention of a chronometer capable of being used aboard ship, in 1762, that allowed navigators for the first time to accurately determine their longitude at sea.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.