pulse oximeter

noun

plural pulse oximeters

: a noninvasive medical device that utilizes spectrophotometry to measure the oxygen saturation of circulating arterial blood in an individual by determining the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin pulsating through a network of blood capillaries by way of a sensor attached typically to a finger, toe, or earlobe

Your pulse oximeter will give you a numerical reading—a percentage that indicates the level of oxygen saturation in your blood.

—Tara Parker-Pope

Examples of pulse oximeter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This sleep test continuously monitors oxygen levels using a noninvasive pulse oximeter on the tip of a finger, as well as breathing rates, heart rates, and muscle movement. —Smita Patel, Verywell Health, 28 Apr. 2025

By using these recycled devices—including pulse oximeters, harmonic scalpels and EP catheters—health systems across the globe reduced CO2 emissions by 115,382,133 pounds last year. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025

There's also a blood-oxygen-level-tracking pulse oximeter – which can be used to detect sleep apnea, and to measure stress or energy expenditure – along with an optical skin temperature sensor for gauging body temperature or tracking ovulation. —Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 8 Apr. 2025

Is skin pigmentation the ultimate problem with pulse oximeters? —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pulse oximeter

• semidiameter
• sphygmomanometer
• aliter
• ammeter
• completer
• demeter
• preheater
• repeater
• saltpetre
• ureter
• amphitheater
• centimeter

Medical Definition

pulse oximeter

noun

: a noninvasive medical device that utilizes spectrophotometry to measure the oxygen saturation of circulating arterial blood in an individual by determining the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin pulsating through a network of blood capillaries by way of a sensor attached typically to a finger, toe, or earlobe

Note: The pulse oximeter typically sounds an alarm if the blood saturation becomes less than optimal.

Pulse oximeters measure hemoglobin oxygen saturation via an external probe. The light of two varying wavelengths passes through the skin, and the difference in absorbance by arterial blood of these two wavelengths by the photodetector within the pulse oximeter is used to calculate the level of oxygenation.

—Pediatric Emergency Medicine Reports