Standard Lemma guide

spirometer

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /spʌɪˈɹɒm.ɪt.ə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /spaɪˈɹɑm.ət.ɚ/
  • rhymes with -ɒmɪtə(ɹ)

1

noun

Meaning 1

An instrument for measuring the air capacity of the lungs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

Examples

  • 2002, H. Nancy Holmes (editorial director), Illustrated Manual of Nursing Practice, Wolters Kluwer Health (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins), 3rd Edition, page 154, While all spirometers encourage slow, sustained maximal inspiration, they can be divided into two types: flow incentive and volume incentive.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a measuring instrument for measuring the vital capacity of the lungs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: measuring instrument, measuring system, measuring device

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-der.? Latin spīro Proto-Indo-European *meh1- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Hellenic *-tron Ancient Greek -τρον (-tron) Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron)lbor. French -mètrebor. English -meter English spirometer From Latin spīro (“to breathe”) + English -meter.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: espiròmetre — medical device
  • Czech: spirometr — medical device
  • Finnish: spirometri — medical device
  • French: spiromètre — medical device
  • Galician: espirómetro — medical device
  • Greek: σπιρόμετρο (spirómetro) — medical device
  • Indonesian: spirometer — medical device
  • Italian: spirometro — medical device
  • Malay: spirometer — medical device
  • Portuguese: espirómetro — medical device
  • Portuguese: espirômetro — medical device
  • Spanish: espirómetro — medical device