odometer

noun

odom·​e·​ter ō-ˈdä-mə-tər How to pronounce odometer (audio)
: 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
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Another example, with less than 21,000 miles on the odometer, sold for $550,000. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 May 2025 Mixing creeping dread with the tough realization that they might be stuck driving forever, the actors behave like actual disillusioned youth, striving to hold onto their humanity as the odometer ticks away endlessly. William Earl, Variety, 9 Apr. 2025 The 1969 911 designed by Pininfarina is being sold for a cool $1.15 million by Hemmings, which says the manual-transmission car has 38,000 miles on the odometer. Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 6 May 2025 Prosecutors say odometer fraud is punishable by up to three years in prison. Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for odometer

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of odometer was in 1791

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Odometer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odometer. Accessed 31 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

odometer

noun
odom·​e·​ter ō-ˈdäm-ət-ər How to pronounce odometer (audio)
: an instrument for measuring distance traveled (as by a vehicle)

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