spectrophotometer
noun
spec·tro·pho·tom·e·ter
ˌspek-trō-fə-ˈtä-mə-tər 
: a photometer for measuring the relative intensities of the light in different parts of a spectrum
spectrophotometric
adjective
or less commonly spectrophotometrical
Examples of spectrophotometer in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nowadays eggs can be scanned with electron microscopes and spectrophotometers; they can be genetically sequenced or scraped of their isotopes for carbon dating; they can be scanned and stored and shared in a digital format.
—
Jules Howard, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024
Testing requires a spectrophotometer that measures how much ultraviolet, visible and infrared light gets through the glasses.
—Gina Kolata, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
After snow fell, his crew rushed to remote sites by ski and helicopter, collected samples of the fresh snow, and carried them back to a clean lab for analysis with atomic absorption spectrophotometers.
—Kathryn Phillips, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
One by one the mammals went under the spectrophotometer.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2023
All the pieces of equipment, which include acoustic liquid handlers, spectrophotometers, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction instruments, and flow cytometers are accessible.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2020
The team used a spectrophotometer to measure the relative redness of the owls’ belly plumage, and averaged these spectrophotometric values measured for all the owls from each geographic location. Dr Romano and his collaborators found that geographic origin influences barn owl plumage color.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
That limits people’s options to try this therapy out for themselves, since simply buying any green glasses available in a store does not guarantee the proper wavelength, which can only be tested with a spectrophotometer.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 27 Oct. 2022
Gulur used commercially available glasses for the study and tested each with a spectrophotometer to ascertain exactly which wavelength of green light each pair produced.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 27 Oct. 2022
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Jules Howard, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024
Testing requires a spectrophotometer that measures how much ultraviolet, visible and infrared light gets through the glasses.
—Gina Kolata, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
After snow fell, his crew rushed to remote sites by ski and helicopter, collected samples of the fresh snow, and carried them back to a clean lab for analysis with atomic absorption spectrophotometers.
—Kathryn Phillips, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
One by one the mammals went under the spectrophotometer.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2023
All the pieces of equipment, which include acoustic liquid handlers, spectrophotometers, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction instruments, and flow cytometers are accessible.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2020
The team used a spectrophotometer to measure the relative redness of the owls’ belly plumage, and averaged these spectrophotometric values measured for all the owls from each geographic location. Dr Romano and his collaborators found that geographic origin influences barn owl plumage color.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
That limits people’s options to try this therapy out for themselves, since simply buying any green glasses available in a store does not guarantee the proper wavelength, which can only be tested with a spectrophotometer.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 27 Oct. 2022
Gulur used commercially available glasses for the study and tested each with a spectrophotometer to ascertain exactly which wavelength of green light each pair produced.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 27 Oct. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Spectrophotometer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spectrophotometer. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spectrophotometer
noun
spec·tro·pho·tom·e·ter
ˌspek-trō-fə-ˈtäm-ət-ər
: an instrument for measuring the strengths of the light in different parts of a spectrum
Medical Definition
spectrophotometer
noun
spec·tro·pho·tom·e·ter
ˌspek-trō-fə-ˈtäm-ət-ər
: a photometer for measuring the relative intensities of the light in different parts of a spectrum
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