gyroscope

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

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

The jacket and its inner vest rely on a gyroscope, accelerometers, and sensors in the shoulder and back, all linked together by software that can distinguish between normal riding and, holy crap, look out for that car!

— david curcurito, Popular Mechanics, "The Inflatable Man," 16 Aug. 2017
Enrique Medina, the power subsystem expert, was preparing to implement a ‘‘patch,’’ an update that would turn off a heater on Voyager 2 in order to run the gyroscope, roll the spacecraft and calibrate the magnetometer.

— kim tingley, New York Times, "The Loyal EngineersSteering NASA’s VoyagerProbes Across the Universe," 3 Aug. 2017
Many of the commercial gyroscope sensors in electronic devices are tuning fork gyroscopes—

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Sounds bad: Researchers demonstrate “sonic gun” threat against smart devices," 28 July 2017
This could just be a sweet little nod to Martin’s flowery writing, but given that the gyroscope/orrery from the show’s opening credits hangs above the Citadel library, we might be headed for a meta reference to end all meta references.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Game of Thrones: 8 Easter Eggs, References, and Callbacks You Might Have Missed in “Stormborn”," 25 July 2017
This could just be a sweet little nod to Martin’s flowery writing, but given that the gyroscope/orrery from the show’s opening credits hangs above the Citadel library, we might be headed for a meta reference to end all meta references.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones: 8 Easter Eggs, References, and Callbacks You Might Have Missed in “Stormborn”," 25 July 2017
Catapult's S5 device processes a thousand data points per second and tracks hundreds of variables with a complex algorithm, gyroscope, accelerometers and magnetometers.

— rainer sabin, AL.com, "Inside the technology giving Alabama a competitive edge," 2 July 2017
Today, these early tools share space with a gyroscope, fingerprint scanner, and other enhancements—many of the iPhone’s most influential games and apps would be powerless without them.

— brian merchant, Fortune, "6 Ways the iPhone Changed Everything," 28 June 2017
Each minigame is controlled using the gyroscope and accelerometer from your smartphone, which is surprisingly responsive.

— mark walton, Ars Technica, "Sony’s PlayLink links your phone to your PS4 for multiplayer minigame madness," 21 June 2017

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.

Illustration of gyroscope

Origin and Etymology of gyroscope

French

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First Known Use: 1856

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GYROSCOPE Defined for English Language Learners

gyroscope

noun

Definition of gyroscope for English Language Learners

: a wheel that spins quickly and is held in a frame that allows it to tilt in any direction

GYROSCOPE Defined for Kids

gyroscope

noun gy·ro·scope \ ˈjī-rə-ˌskōp \

Definition of gyroscope for Students

:a wheel mounted to spin rapidly so that its axis is free to turn in various directions

Learn More about gyroscope

See words that rhyme with gyroscope Spanish Central: Translation of gyroscope Nglish: Translation of gyroscope for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gyroscope

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gyroscope

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gyroscope

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gyroscopic

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