stethoscope

[ steth-uh-skohp ]

nounMedicine/Medical.
  1. an instrument used in auscultation to convey sounds in the chest or other parts of the body to the ear of the examiner.

Origin of stethoscope

1
First recorded in 1810–20; stetho- + -scope

Other words from stethoscope

  • steth·o·scoped, adjective
  • ste·thos·co·pist [ste-thos-kuh-pist], /stɛˈθɒs kə pɪst/, noun
  • ste·thos·co·py [ste-thos-kuh-pee, steth-uh-skoh-], /stɛˈθɒs kə pi, ˈstɛθ əˌskoʊ-/, noun
  • un·steth·o·scoped, adjective

Words Nearby stethoscope

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How to use stethoscope in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stethoscope

stethoscope

/ (ˈstɛθəˌskəʊp) /


noun
  1. med an instrument for listening to the sounds made within the body, typically consisting of a hollow disc that transmits the sound through hollow tubes to earpieces

  2. Also called: obstetric stethoscope a narrow cylinder expanded at both ends to recieve and transmit fetal sounds

Origin of stethoscope

1
C19: from French, from Greek stēthos breast + -scope

Derived forms of stethoscope

  • stethoscopic (ˌstɛθəˈskɒpɪk), adjective
  • stethoscopy (stɛˈθɒskəpɪ), noun

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

Cultural definitions for stethoscope

stethoscope

[ (steth-uh-skohp) ]


An instrument used in listening to internal body sounds. Most familiarly, physicians and nurses use it to listen to heart sounds.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.