dry-bulb thermometer
- noun
- /draɪ bʌlb θərˈmɛtər/
- Specialized
:
termómetro de bulbo seco
- The meteorologist used a dry-bulb thermometer to record the ambient air temperature for her report.
Examples
-
Air temperatures were determined with a standardized dry bulb thermometer.
Academic text (1993) -
To ensure accuracy, the scientist confirmed the readings taken with the dry-bulb thermometer before conducting further tests.
-
A dry-bulb thermometer is essential for measuring the temperature in a controlled environment.
Synonyms
74
3.0
A tool that tells you how hot or cold something is
A thermometer that measures temperature by the pressure change of a gas in a fixed space
A device that measures temperature by sensing pressure changes in trapped air
Antonyms
- Specialized
A small tool with a bulb covered in a wet cloth used to measure humidity
Surface Forms
Morphology
dry-bulb + thermometer
The term literally describes a thermometer whose bulb is dry; a learner who knows 'dry', 'bulb', and 'thermometer' can infer it is a thermometer with an unmoistened bulb used to measure air temperature. The dry-bulb vs. wet-bulb distinction is a transparent compositional and cross-linguistic technical pattern, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Dry-bulb thermometer comes from the simple image of a thermometer whose dry bulb is left dry. Because the bulb stays dry, the device reads the 'air temperature' only and not the 'moisture' in the air, so the name tells you what it measures.