Definition of "lidar" [lidar]

• A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed laser light reflected from their surfaces. (noun)
• The equipment used in such detection. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Laser technology called lidar provided much of the information."
• "Toronto-based York University scientists, who were instrumental in making a meteorological device known as lidar, said their discovery was made over the last month when the lidar emitted laser light into the Martian atmosphere to measure its outline - dust, ground fog and clouds."
• "The program should employ a technology known as light detection and ranging, or "lidar," to acquire elevation data."