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monitors

 - 5 dictionary results

mon⋅i⋅tor

[mon-i-ter]
–noun
1. a student appointed to assist in the conduct of a class or school, as to help take attendance or keep order.
2. a person appointed to supervise students, applicants, etc., taking an examination, chiefly to prevent cheating; proctor.
3. a person who admonishes, esp. with reference to conduct.
4. something that serves to remind or give warning.
5. a device or arrangement for observing, detecting, or recording the operation of a machine or system, esp. an automatic control system.
6. an instrument for detecting dangerous gases, radiation, etc.
7. Radio and Television.
a. a receiving apparatus used in a control room, esp. to provide a steady check of the quality of an audio or video transmission.
b. a similar apparatus placed in various parts of a studio so that an audience can watch a recorded portion of a show, the performer can see the various segments of a program, etc.
c. any such receiving apparatus used in a closed-circuit system, as in an operating room.
8. Computers.
a. a component, as a CRT, with a screen for viewing data at a computer terminal.
b. a control program. Compare operating system.
c. a group of systems used to measure the performance of a computer system.
9. Nautical.
a. a former U.S. steam-propelled, armored warship of very low freeboard, having one or more turrets and used for coastal defense.
b. (initial capital letter, italics) the first of such warships, used against the Confederate ironclad warship Merrimac at Hampton Roads, Va., in 1862.
10. a raised construction straddling the ridge of a roof and having windows or louvers for lighting or ventilating a building, as a factory or warehouse.
11. an articulated mounting for a nozzle, usually mechanically operated, which permits a stream of water to be played in any desired direction, as in firefighting or hydraulic mining.
12. Also called giant. (in hydraulic mining) a nozzle for dislodging and breaking up placer deposits with a jet of water.
13. any of various large lizards of the family Varanidae, of Africa, southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, fabled to give warning of the presence of crocodiles: several species are endangered.
–verb (used with object)
14. Radio and Television.
a. to listen to (transmitted signals) on a receiving set in order to check the quality of the transmission.
b. to view or listen to (television or radio transmissions) in order to check the quality of the video or audio.
c. to listen to (a radio conversation or channel); keep tuned to.
15. to observe, record, or detect (an operation or condition) with instruments that have no effect upon the operation or condition.
16. to oversee, supervise, or regulate: to monitor the administering of a test.
17. to watch closely for purposes of control, surveillance, etc.; keep track of; check continually: to monitor one's eating habits.
–verb (used without object)
18. to serve as a monitor, detector, supervisor, etc.

Origin:
1540–50; < L: prompter, adviser, equiv. to moni-, var. s. of monēre to remind, advise, warn + -tor -tor


mon⋅i⋅tor⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To monitors
mon·i·tor   (mŏn'ĭ-tər)   
n.  
  1. One that admonishes, cautions, or reminds, especially with respect to matters of conduct.

  2. A pupil who assists a teacher in routine duties.

    1. A usually electronic device used to record, regulate, or control a process or system.

    2. A receiver, such as a screen or speaker, that is used to check the quality or content of an electronic transmission: followed the broadcast on the television monitor.

    3. Computer Science A device that accepts video signals from a computer and displays information on a screen; a video display.

    4. A heavily ironclad warship of the 19th century with a low, flat deck and one or more gun turrets.

    5. A modern warship designed for coastal bombardment.

  3. Computer Science A program that observes, supervises, or controls the activities of other programs.

  4. An articulated device holding a rotating nozzle with which a jet of water is regulated, used in mining and firefighting.

    1. A heavily ironclad warship of the 19th century with a low, flat deck and one or more gun turrets.

    2. A modern warship designed for coastal bombardment.

  5. Biology Any of various tropical carnivorous lizards of the family Varanidae, living in the East Indies, southern Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Guinea and ranging in length from several centimeters to 3 meters (10 feet).

v.   mon·i·tored, mon·i·tor·ing, mon·i·tors

v.   tr.
  1. To check the quality or content of (an electronic audio or visual signal) by means of a receiver.

  2. To check by means of an electronic receiver for significant content, such as military, political, or illegal activity: monitor a suspected criminal's phone conversations.

  3. To keep track of systematically with a view to collecting information: monitor the bear population of a national park; monitored the political views of the people.

  4. To test or sample, especially on a regular or ongoing basis: monitored the city's drinking water for impurities.

  5. To keep close watch over; supervise: monitor an examination.

  6. To direct.

v.   intr.
To act as a monitor.

[Latin, from monēre, to warn; see men-1 in Indo-European roots.]
mon'i·tor·ship' n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

monitor 
1546, "senior pupil at a school charged with keeping order, etc.," from L. monitor "one who reminds, admonishes, or checks," from monere "to admonish, warn, advise," related to memini "I remember, I am mindful of," and to mens "mind," from PIE base *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)). The lizard so called because it is supposed to give warning of crocodiles (1826). Meaning "squat, slow-moving type of ironclad warship" (1862) so called from name of the first vessel of this design, chosen by Capt. Ericsson because it was meant to "admonish" the Confederate leaders in the U.S. Civil War. Broadcasting sense of "a device to continuously check on the technical quality of a transmission" (1931) led to special sense of "a TV screen displaying the picture from a particular camera." The verb is attested from 1924.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2monitor
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: mon·i·tored; mon·i·tor·ing /'män-&t-&-ri[ng], 'män-&-tri[ng]/
1 : to watch, observe, or check closely or continuously <monitor a patient's vital signs>
2 : to test for intensity of radiations especially if due to radioactivity
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

monitor mon·i·tor (mŏn'ĭ-tər)
n.
A usually electronic device used to record, regulate, or control a process or system. v. mon·i·tored, mon·i·tor·ing, mon·i·tors

    The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
    Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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