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

Beginning in 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began to stretch the odometer exposure requirements for model years. —Stuart Dyos, USA Today, 9 Dec. 2025

Mike Conley is effective but limited because of his advanced age and NBA odometer. —Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Upstart can find refinancing for vehicles that are up to 13 years old or with 140,000 miles on the odometer, more generous limits than many competitors. —David McMillin, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2025

Those numbers should both still be attainable since the vehicle has just 84 miles on the odometer. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2025

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
• bolometer
• chronometer
• geometer
• hydrometer
• hygrometer
• kilometer
• micrometer
• photometer
• psychrometer
• pycnometer
• pyrometer

Kids Definition

odometer

noun

odom·​e·​ter ō-ˈdäm-ət-ər 

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