Definition of "thermometer" []

• An instrument for measuring temperature, especially one having a graduated glass tube with a bulb containing a liquid, typically mercury or colored alcohol, that expands and rises in the tube as the temperature increases. (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.

• "A good digital oven thermometer is important for this phase unless you've been hankering to get up close and personal with Salmonella, E. coli O157: H7, and Listeria monocytogenes."
• "A $45 infrared digital thermometer is not only a fun toy, it's the perfect way to assess surface temp from a safe distance."
• "On the other, the thermometer is not going through the same chain of reactions as a human being does, so perhaps not."