Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
accelerometer

accelerometer

5 7.3
A device that measures how quickly something speeds up or slows down
  • noun
  • /əˌsɛl.əˈrɑː.mɪ.tər/
  • Specialized
: acelerómetro
  • Each smartphone comes with an accelerometer that allows it to detect motion and position changes.
  • MEMS accelerometers
  • Piezoelectric accelerometer
  • accelerometer for measuring vibrations

The way this works is it has accelerometers in each of your little finger ring things.

Examples

  • Physical activity data were collected during each lesson using an accelerometer.

    Academic text (2015)

  • There's an electronics package which consists of three accelerometers which measures each of the three axes.

    Yellow Yellow Yellow: The Indycar Safety Team (2017)

  • Inside this ear piece is a sensor or accelerometer that measures forces.

    The Happy Road (1957)

  • During the first week of school, students were taught about the accelerometers and how to wear them.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Another alternative would be the use of accelerometers to measure PA time, speed, and intensity.

    Academic text (2015)

  • At the beginning of each PE lesson, students were asked to wear an ActiGraph GT1M Accelerometer.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Students wore the same accelerometer throughout the study to alleviate the issue with inter-accelerometer variability.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Endevco's 2256AM2 is a piezoelectric, voltage-mode accelerometer for measuring vibrations at cryogenic temperatures.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The Endevco model 2228C is a rugged low-mass triaxial piezoelectric accelerometer designed to suit a variety of general vibration testing requirements.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The aircraft is equipped with an accelerometer that accurately measures its speed while in flight.

Surface Forms

accelerometer singular
accelerometers plural

Morphology

accelerometer = acceleration (semi-transparent) = acceler + ation + meter

The word is built on acceleration plus -meter, but the technical scientific sense and linking vowel make it only partly straightforward for many learners.

Etymology

The word accelerometer comes from accelerate ('to go faster') and -meter ('measure'), the same -meter you see in speedometer and thermometer. So an accelerometer is a small tool that measures how quickly a thing's speed changes.