odometer

noun

odom·​e·​ter ō-ˈdä-mə-tər 

: an instrument for measuring the distance traveled (as by a vehicle)

Did you know?

Odometer includes the root from the Greek word hodos, meaning "road" or "trip". An odometer shares space on your dashboard with a speedometer, a tachometer, and maybe a "tripmeter". The odometer is what crooked car salesmen tamper with when they want to reduce the mileage a car registers as having traveled. One of life's little pleasures is watching the odometer as all the numbers change at the same time.

Examples of odometer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The car, which has spent the last 24 years under private ownership, appears to have been well looked after and driven sparingly, with less than 1,900 miles showing up on the odometer. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2026

The clarity of the computer had always been there, and my sunglasses eliminated the glare that had kept me from seeing the odometer clearly. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Sep. 2026

While some of your organs are rapidly adding miles on their odometers, others tap the brakes on their biological birthdays. — Mike McRae 04, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026

That’s forcing many shoppers to settle for older models with considerably more miles on the odometer. — Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French odomètre, from Greek hodometron, from hodos way, road + metron measure — more at measure

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for odometer

• barometer
• chronometer
• geometer
• hydrometer
• hygrometer
• kilometer
• micrometer
• photometer
• psychrometer
• pycnometer
• pyrometer
• rheometer

Kids Definition

odometer

noun

odom·​e·​ter ō-ˈdäm-ət-ər 

: an instrument for measuring distance traveled (as by a vehicle)