dosimeter

noun do·sim·e·ter \ dō-ˈsi-mə-tər \

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Definition of dosimeter

: an instrument for measuring and monitoring exposure to doses of radiation (such as X-rays or gamma rays)

Her team used a mathematical model and dosimeter readings to estimate neighborhood radiation exposures for the nearly 160,000 people living within a 10-mile radius of the plant.
—Rick Weiss

— see dosimetry

See dosimeter defined for kids

Recent Examples of dosimeter from the Web

Sky News correspondent Tom Cheshire said his team's satellite phone and radiation dosimeter -- a device to measure nuclear radiation -- was confiscated by security at Wonsan airport.

— james griffiths, CNN, "How to get to North Korea's nuclear site," 23 May 2018
The device looks like a giant fishing rod about 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) in diameter, from which a unit housing the camera, a dosimeter and thermometer slowly slides down.

— Washington Post, "Toshiba unveils device for Fukushima nuclear reactor probe," 22 Dec. 2017
Clad in a lab coat with a pocket radiation dosimeter, sweating in the stifling reactor hall here on the outskirts of Ghana's capital, the young nuclear physicist edges out to a tube jutting above the water's surface.

— richard stone, Science | AAAS, "U.S.-China mission rushes bomb-grade nuclear fuel out of Africa," 31 Aug. 2017
The robot, about the size of a loaf of bread, is equipped with lights, maneuvers with five propellers and collects data with two cameras and a dosimeter.

— Washington Post, "Possible melted fuel seen for first time at Fukushima plant," 21 July 2017
The submersible robot, about the size of a loaf of bread, is equipped with lights, maneuvers with five propellers and collects data with two cameras and a dosimeter.

— mari yamaguchi, The Seattle Times, "Possible melted fuel seen for first time at Fukushima plant," 21 July 2017
The robot, about the size of a loaf of bread, is equipped with lights, maneuvers with five propellers and collects data with two cameras and a dosimeter.

— Washington Post, "Possible melted fuel seen for first time at Fukushima plant," 21 July 2017
The robot, about the size of a loaf of bread, is equipped with lights, maneuvers with five propellers and collects data with two cameras and a dosimeter.

— Washington Post, "Swimming robot probes Fukushima reactor to find melted fuel," 19 July 2017
Designed from the ground up to be a professional-grade dosimeter, it's also built for the nuclear newbie.

— andrew karam, Popular Mechanics, "Radiation Detectors Now Look As Sleek As Your Smartphone," 25 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dosimeter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dosimeter

Late Latin dosis + International Scientific Vocabulary -meter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1906

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

dosimeter

noun do·sim·e·ter \ dō-ˈsim-ət-ər \

variants: also dosemeter play \ˈdō-ˌsmēt-ər\

medical Definition of dosimeter

: an instrument for measuring and monitoring exposure to doses of radiation (as X-rays or gamma rays)

To estimate typical exposures, the researchers are now correlating specific job tasks with individual exposure levels, using data from hundreds of dosimeters worn by workers.
—Carol Ezzell, Science News, 28 Sept. 1991

— see dosimetry