gyroscope

noun gy·ro·scope \ ˈjī-rə-ˌskōp , British also ˈgī- \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Definition of gyroscope

: 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

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gyroscopic

play \ˌjī-rə-ˈskä-pik\ adjective

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gyroscopically

play \ˌjī-rə-ˈskä-pi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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Recent Examples of gyroscope from the Web

To some in the Thrones fandom, the gyroscope is a harbinger of how the series will end.

— megan mccluskey, Time, "Game of Thrones Fans Think They're On to Something With This Westworld Discovery," 27 June 2018
The smartphone industry led to rapid improvements in sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes — which, in turn, helped with the design of more stable drones and allowed for larger VTOL aircraft.

— joshua brustein, latimes.com, "Boeing asked for quiet jet packs but got a bunch of air motorcycles," 14 June 2018
Madrigal, the team's captain as well as its gyroscope, wouldn't bite, either, on his way to the bus while graciously signing autographs and posing for selfies.

— ron richmond for the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Inside Luke Heimlich's senior season with the Oregon State baseball team," 8 June 2018
Further, Dell’s design utilizes an accelerometer and a gyroscope to detect the laptop’s orientation and position.

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 review: Meet the child of Intel and AMD’s unholy union," 23 May 2018
This could have ramifications for groups looking to use time crystals to build new atomic clocks, gyroscopes, or for other applications.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Discover 'Time Crystals' Growing Right Under Their Noses," 4 May 2018
Other hardware perks include Fitbit's standard optical heart-rate monitor, a tri-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, an altimeter, and storage for about 300 songs.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "Fitbit Versa review: Slowly but surely pushing Fitbit past the “fit” bit," 26 Mar. 2018
Its 26 exhibits — including a rocket launch simulator and a human gyroscope — show the physical and psychological effects of living in microgravity on the human body and the technology used to complete a mission.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "exhibits for families," 28 Mar. 2018
This was a great place to hone one’s inner gyroscope, and these were great cars to do it in.

— steve siler, Car and Driver, "Sliding with the Bulls: We Survive Lamborghini’s Winter Accademia," 17 Mar. 2018

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