gyroscope

noun

gy·​ro·​scope ˈjī-rə-ˌskōp 

 British also  ˈgī-

: a wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each other and to the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin

gyroscopic

ˌjī-rə-ˈskä-pik 

adjective

gyroscopically

ˌjī-rə-ˈskä-pi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Illustration of gyroscope

Examples of gyroscope in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of using accelerometers and gyroscopes, a quantum sensor measures rotation and acceleration at the atomic level. —Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2025

The watch also features an accelerometer, a barometer, a compass, a gyroscope, and a temperature sensor. —PC Magazine, 17 July 2025

That system uses the sensors on an Apple Watch (namely the heart sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope) to detect a nightmare, and then delivers a vibration stimulus to the wrist that terminates the nightmare without waking the user. —Leslie Saxon, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2021

Some parts, like the gyroscope, would be hard to make as good with research money as an industry that sells billions of them in every phone. —IEEE Spectrum, 14 Feb. 2019

Word History

Etymology

French

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gyroscope

• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope
• endoscope
• envelope
• epitope
• horoscope
• isotope
• microscope
• misanthrope
• pericope

Kids Definition

gyroscope

noun

gy·​ro·​scope ˈjī-rə-ˌskōp 

: a wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis that is free to turn in various directions

gyroscopic

ˌjī-rə-ˈskäp-ik 

adjective