caliper
or cal·li·per
Usually calipers. an instrument for measuring thicknesses and internal or external diameters inaccessible to a scale, consisting usually of a pair of adjustable pivoted legs.
any of various calibrated instruments for measuring thicknesses or distances between surfaces, usually having a screwed or sliding adjustable piece.: Compare vernier caliper.
thickness or depth, as of paper or a tree.
Usually calipers. the pincers of an earwig.
Automotive. the part of a disc-brake assembly that straddles the disc and presses the brake pads against it.
a similar part used with a hand brake on a bicycle.
to measure with calipers.
to use calipers.
Origin of caliper
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use caliper in a sentence
Whenever it encountered a stone, this was raised between its callipers and pitched out beyond the ring.
Popular Adventure Tales | Mayne ReidIt clinked indeed among rules, T-squares and callipers at each footstep of the heavy printer between press and table.
The Fifth Queen | Ford Madox FordConsequently, if a set of standard tubes is kept for comparison or callipers are used each new supply of so-called 18 by 1.5 cm.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique | John William Henry EyreIt ended with Captain Bills counting out some money from a black and greasy leather wallet, and handing the money to Callipers.
A Tale of the Tow-Path | Homer GreeneI saw Callipers arrested last night for stealing the horse he traded to Bill Rosencamp.
A Tale of the Tow-Path | Homer Greene
British Dictionary definitions for caliper
/ (ˈkælɪpə) /
the usual US spelling of calliper
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 caliper
[ kăl′ə-pər ]
An instrument consisting of two curved legs connected at a hinge, used to measure thickness and distance. Often used in the plural as calipers.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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